What's on in May? Listing of events and activities.

The following is a listing of events taking place in the UK and overseas this month. For further information, please contact the organisers directly.

As part of Congo Now! Southbank Centre presents a landmark event to celebrate the Democratic Republic of Congo. The event showcases the Congolese people, in particular its women, and the extraordinary vibrancy and creative energy of the country - an energy that has survived despite all the Congo has suffered.

Hosted by politician and broadcaster Oona King, the evening features Congolese talent and British artists inspired by the country - writers, poets, musicians and visual artists. Watch Congolese dance and music in the Front Room space as part of the event and see photos by the acclaimed photojournalist Susan Schulman.

In association with Susan Schulman and the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Great Lakes Region of Africa, Congo Now! is a week-long campaign of events and publicity celebrating the Congo and highlighting the unacceptable conflict there.
www.southbankcentre.co.uk

Do you live in London or plan to visit?

Check out the latest events happening across the City this month:

In recent years, interest in Africa's emerging economies has been growing, from both sovereign and private investors, against a background of financial downturn in the West and global pressure to secure natural resources. Many increasingly dominant global players such as China, India, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Brazil have been moving fast to secure investments.

The market has continued to grow despite recent global financial turmoil. What are the immediate and long term prospects for investment in Africa's rapidly emerging markets? Focusing on the fastest emerging economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Senegal and Angola, this major event will feature leading policy makers, economists and financiers speaking on new and growing opportunities for FDI investment in Africa.

Register via http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/Africa09/

Award winning stand-up hero Danny 'Slim' Gray presents his latest one man show I AM SLIM, with brand new material about growing up with his Mum, his siblings and... The Belt!

Slim has performed in the top comedy venues around the world and was the first black UK comic to perform at the famous Hollywood Comedy Store. Introduced by Felicity Ethnic with special guests Eddie Kadi and MOBO winning saxophonist Yolanda Brown.
http://www.hackneyempire.co.uk

Speakers: Dr. Richard Bodmer (Durrell Institute of Conservation & Ecology, and the Wildlife Conservation Society) & Dr. Kathleen Sullivan Sealey (University of Miami). Chaired by explorer, writer and TV presenter Dr. George McGavin.

The very fact that the Amazon and the Caribbean are such attractive locations renders them all the more vulnerable to over-exploitation. Hear how Earthwatch scientists are addressing this issue in the Peruvian Amazon and on the coasts of the Bahamas.

Website: http://www.earthwatch.org/europe/get_involved/
events08/lecture09-americas/  Ticket only - free to students and current Earthwatch donors; otherwise a donation will be requested on the door. For tickets and more information contact our Events Department on (01865) 318856; events@earthwatch.org.uk

Is your company's remuneration foolproof? As the global economic situation slides deep into recession, organisations world wide are reviewing their remuneration strategies. The questions that are being asked are how open-ended should a remuneration strategy be or whether tight corporate governance procedures should be followed in the design and payment of packages to Senior Executives. These and other questions relevant to executive pay will be explored at a high powered half day seminar including speakers: Dr. Mark Bussin: Chairman - 21st Century Pay Solutions Group (Pty) Ltd, Michael Katz: Chairman - Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs, Rod Harper: Director - Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs, Roy Shough: Director – Deloitte, Dr Lumengo Bonga-Bonga: HOD of Economics - University of Johannesburg plus a panel discussion.
Please click here for the registration form
Please click here for the programme
For more information on this strategic seminar please contact:Lavern Meyers at lavern@ipm.co.za or Patricia Ramokgadi at patricia@ipm.co.za Tel: 011 329 3760

The Homecoming Revolution and Gordon Institute of Business bring you a one day seminar "Entrepreneurship – The Way Forward in South Africa." This specially designed one day event will give you the opportunity to engage with successful entrepreneurs in South Africa who have spotted unique opportunities and grown successful businesses.

Entrepreneurs are in the business of seeing opportunities where others don't and then working with passion and energy to bring an idea to life in the form of a new business enterprise. Now is the best opportunity to create business and jobs in South Africa. Find out why South Africa does offer opportunity and get practical advice. Book your place here

Speakers include: Paul Harris, CEO, FirstRand Group, Nick Binedell, Director, Gordon Institute of Business, Itumeleng Kgaboesele, CEO, Sphere Holdings and Director, South African Chapter Young Entrepreneurs Organisation, Kevin Vermaak, Founder, Cape Epic. Venue: Altitude 360 – Westminster www.altitudelondon.com Cost: £20.00. Booking online: https://www.satickets.co.uk/buy-tickets/details/5-entrepreneurship-the-way-forward-in-south-africa

On the weekend of May 22-24, African organizers from across the U.S. and Canada will converge on Washington, D.C. for a conference recognizing African Liberation Day (ALD) with the theme, "One Africa, One Nation: Separated by Colonial Slavery, Reunited by Revolutionary Resistance!"

The event, organized by the African People's Socialist Party, will serve to formally establish the North American Region of the African Socialist International (ASI), a worldwide party uniting African workers to liberate Africa and its people wherever they have been dispersed. http://www.alduhuru.org/index.html

Come to our fundraising dinner/dance in aid of Achimota School. There will be delicious food, great company and first-class entertainment: the coolest mood music, a super-special old skool records night, a raffle with prizes you'll be dying to take home and a surprise guest of honour. This one’s going to be hot! Venue: Drake Suite, Chelsea Football Club, Stamford Bridge, Fulham Road, London SW6 1HS. Book early to avoid disappointment...

Tickets cost £60 each. It's a bargain for the package you'll get on the night: dinner and entertainments in the Drake Suite, followed by free entry to the Records Nite in the Harris Suite.
http://www.oaa82.co.uk/

MIS Training Institute EMEA and The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) of Nigeria have partnered to host a unique international conference. Opened by the Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, with further keynotes by the Minister of Finance, The Honourable Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Auditor General, and Accountant General of Nigeria, experts from across Africa and from around the world will form an unrivalled international speaker panel to educate on 'best practice' strategies to achieve effective revenue management.

The goal is to establish 'best practice' approaches internationally to strengthen audit and investigations capacity to improve tax compliance and ensure transparency and integrity of tax administrations, enhance the relationship and information exchange between revenue bodies, taxpayers and tax intermediaries across Africa on harmful tax practices, including tax evasion, tax havens; aggressive planning, avoidance and transfer pricing/double taxation treaties, and tax fraud, and develop professional skills, ethics and frameworks to improve revenue management and to recognise the importance of tax compliance and governance in national development.

The conference will bring together Revenue authorities from across Africa, ministries of finance and relevant government departments (tax commissioners, director generals, directors of fiscal investigations, internal audit, accountant generals and other directors / key personnel), Corporates, mainly multi-national companies, with operations in Africa (finance directors, tax directors), national/international firms advising on tax compliance and inter-governmental community working in the international tax and governance area.

Make your brand work harder during the recession. With redundancies and budget cuts hitting headlines on a daily basis, the employer brand has never been so important in maintaining employee engagement, motivation and corporate reputation during the downturn.

With leading experts and best practice organisations on hand, join us to discover new ways to sustain your employer brand in challenging times. Provide your organisation with a platform for growth and development for when the economy starts to recover.

You should attend if you involved in HR and Personnel, corporate reputation and communications, brand consultancy, employee relations and people development.

Coming Up...

Led by trainers Fraser Graham and Mark Spracklen, Directors, Customer Value Analytics, the course is designed to give the delegate a clear understanding of Pricing evolution and objectives, Influences on pricing strategy options, Pricing options and bundling options.

The workshop will provide participants with key concepts and materials on the process of pricing. Participants will work themselves on a case study on price management that incorporates all steps in the pricing process.

Participants will include Heads of Product Development, Heads of Product Management, Pricing Directors, CEOs, Marketing Directors, Business Development Directors and Business Strategy Directors. For booking information:
www.salvoglobal.com/telecomspricing.asp

It's 1989 in Lagos. Political hysteria and social change are sweeping Nigeria. Chief Adeyemi's wife Toyin is turning 40 and, behind the mansion walls, the household is preparing for her party. But there are other distractions. Their troublesome sons, returning from college, are more interested in seduction and starting revolutions than their parents' disintegrating marriage. Meanwhile Helen, the ambitious house girl, is waiting for her chance...

An unmissable theatrical party, Ìyà-Ilé is the long-awaited prequel to the hugely successful The Estate, which is currently being adapted for film. A vibrant mix of comedy, political satire and family intrigue, Ìyà-Ilé is packed with witty dialogue and the wonderful music of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Sunny Ade and Ebenezer Obey.
Soho Theatre

A brand new comedy sketch show by Richard Nyeila, destined for a TV screen near you! Premiering at the empire and featuring some of the best comedic and acting talent around, including Richard Blackwood, Wayne Rollins, Glenda Jaxson, Annette Fagon and Babatunde.

The show will introduce a host of new comedy characters destined to appear on a TV screen near you!
http://www.hackneyempire.co.uk

The NDFF Conference will takes place in London with a list of high profile international speakers, government representatives, private sector leaders and professionals to discuss prospects and risks to long-term socio-economic and market performances in Nigeria.

NDFF2009 will share information on Nigeria as a Frontier Emerging market, investment opportunities and how to improve the country's competitiveness and mitigate the effect of the global economic slowdown on broad-based empowerment.

Registration is via the Website see: www.financialnigeria.com/ndff2009
Enquiries: Seye Aina info@paceworking.co.uk

London Business School's Africa Club is delighted to invite you to Africa Day 2009. The conference will take place on Saturday, 16 May 2009 at London Business School from 9AM to 5PM, with a gala dinner to follow.

The eighth annual Africa Day conference will focus on the "Investment Climate in Africa: Navigating the Global Downturn".

This year, our four panels will discuss: 1) Innovative Financing in Africa 2) Natural Resources: Curse or Blessing? 3) China's Growing Influence in Africa 4) Growth Sectors Beating the Downturn. Keynote speakers will include Hakeem Belo-Osagie (Chairman, Metis Capital Partners), Ebenezer N. Essoka (CEO, Standard Chartered Bank, South Africa), Ahmed Heikal (Co-Founder, Citadel Capital), and Omari Issa (CEO, Investment Climate Facility for Africa).
For updates, please visit: http://www.londonafricaclub.org/africaday

This flagship event is part of the national strategy for the return of skilled Moroccan workers living abroad and their willingness to participate actively in Moroccan development by creating platforms for exchange, encounter and reflection.

This event is for Moroccan students, graduates and professionals living in Europe and is an opportunity to meet and exchange views about the Moroccan economic situation and learn about career opportunities and collaboration. For more information, visit www.careersinmorocco.com/paris or email Hamza Idrissi at hamza.idrissi@careersinmorocco.com.

This is the 12th year of this ground breaking Forums known as Women in Business. The Forum has a reputation for being premiere events for the exchange of views, experiences, expertise, knowledge and of course business opportunities between businesswomen. Over the last 12 years, the Forums have attracted over 10,000 delegates from the UK and the Arab world (including Iraq and Palestine), Iran, Kazakhastan, Turkey, South Africa, and Europe.

This year's Forum has been extended to provide greater networking opportunities together with specific business expert panels over a two day period. Sectors covered include Energy and the Environment, Retail Sector, Banking and Financing Business Growth, Sales and Marketing and Education. The quality of speakers will ensure a high standard of presentations from experts both in Government and the private sector. The initiative and organisation for the conference is in association with UK Trade and Industry. The Middle East Association and The Arab Businesswomen's Council. As with previous years, attendance at the Forum is limited but is strictly by invitation only and by application. www.forwomeninbusiness.com

Following the success of our Africa – China Event last year, okra eXpress is delighted to host the Africa – China Business and Development Event at the House of Commons, Portcullis House, London, on Wednesday, 20 May 2009 at 6pm. Guest speakers include: Zhuangfei Li, senior executive, Bank of China; Professor Raphael Kaplinsky, Professor of International Development at The Open University; Youssouph Diallo, Counsellor, Senegal Embassy.

In attendance, Wensheng Liu, Deputy President of Shenzhen Branch, China Development Bank, Donghong Li, Commissioner of Residential mission, UK, China Development Bank, Diplomats, forming part of the forum and networking session with professional delegates, industry experts and investors.

Register online:
http://www.okraexpress.com/africa-eubusiness&developmentbrusselseve2

Contact Bertha Oluwole Email:  eventsinlondon@okraexpress.com

The Careers in Africa Summit in London connects high calibre graduates and professionals seeking outstanding career opportunities with the world’s best companies operating across Africa.

The annual Careers in Africa Recruitment Summit in London - now in its 7th year - is the largest global recruiting event for Africans worldwide. The event has helped over 3,800 graduates and professionals find a job back in their home countries. 54 leading companies attended our 2008 event and carried out over 2000 pre-scheduled interviews, many of which culminated in successful job offers.

To apply, please visit our website www.globalcareercompany.com

Biofuels play an important role in the global energy mix. With the progress in technology, biofuels is becoming an increasing viable alternative to conventional sources of energy.

Salvo's 2nd Annual Biofuels Summit line-up of top-notch presenters is set to be the best, addressing the opportunities and challenges of biofuels form of renewable energy. Updates on Government regulations and policies, worldwide trends and developments, understanding of new sources of biofuels like those from algae, Jatropha and waste financing and economics of biofuels are some of the priorities of the 2nd Annual Biofuels Summit.

Confirmed speakers include Nesteoil, Seaoil, Bogor Agricultural University, Department of Energy and Mineral Resources, Petrogreen Thailand, Asian Development Bank, Aum Business Creations, Austrian Biofuels Institute, New Horizon Capital, etc.

Regularly updated information on the 2nd Annual Biofuels Summit 2009 program can be found at www.biofuelssummit.com

The 6th African Petroleum Week 2009, held in London over 26-28th May, combines three high-level and separately bookable events - the 6th African Petroleum Frontiers, the 6th West African Oil, Gas & Energy, as well as the 25th PetroAfricanus Dinner.

African Frontiers focuses on the emerging countries and players in the Continent, including onshore/offshore States and some with deepwater plays, including micro-States in the interiors and island worlds, as well as selected archipelagos. West African Oil, Gas &Energy focuses on the Gulf of Guinea arena where several countries have open acreage, new ventures have met with success, and in cases world-class discoveries (such as Ghana), as well as the oil/gas and LNG ventures that are found in West Africa. Numerous companies target West Africa across the value chain and a major upside in investments has been recorded in hydrocarbons.

During the 6th African Petroleum Week is held our 25th PetroAfricanus Dinner in London, with Guest Speaker, an exceptional networking opportunity, separately bookable, for leading executives and State officials. PetroAfricanus has become an established occasion for intimate and high-level corporate interface within the African upstream industry worldwide.

Meeting the networking needs of the pan-African eLearning and distance education sector, the annual eLearning Africa conference is the key networking venue for practitioners and professionals from Africa and all over the world.

eLA is the largest gathering of eLearning and distance education professionals in Africa, enabling participants to develop multinational and cross-industry contacts and partnerships, as well as to enhance their knowledge, expertise and abilities. Delegates are high-level policy and decision makers and practitioners from education, business and government - the three key areas driving eLearning adoption and innovation.

The conference is held in English and French. It includes plenary sessions with world-class experts, smaller presentation and special focus sessions, practical demonstrations and debates on specific topics, as well as various informal networking opportunities where practitioners share their experiences, ideas, new information and perspectives.

A side-splitting night of laughter with Eddie Nestor, Robbie Gee and Kat as your hosts featuring a host of comedians including Richard Blackwood, Slim and Felix Dexter plus many more. There will also be surprise guests from the world of television, film and music.

All proceeds from the night will go to Kwahu-Tafo in Ghana. Box Office: 020 8985 2424  www.hackneyempire.co.uk

For further information, please contact the organisers directly.

PLEASE NOTE: ReConnect Africa accepts no responsibility for any of the events described above and/or any dealings with the event organisers.

To notify us of your event and discuss advertising and marketing options, please contact us at:  editor@reconnectafrica.com