Renaissance Theme Party

Elusive renaissance dream worries Africa's leadership

By Alex Ndegwa and Phillip Mwakio

Former South African President Thabo Mbeki is soft-spoken with a disarming demeanor.

Mbeki let go of high office in 2008 prematurely, a decision his peers did not contemplate even when it was clear that defiance would cost them their lives.

His second term as President was cut short a year earlier in September that year after he fell out with the ruling party, the African National Congress, who felt he was too elitist.

He was graceful enough to walk away even when his leadership credentials were still impressive – a rarity in a continent ravaged by tyranny.

A man who would choose honor and dignity over self-preservation might appear as one not so keen to ruffle feathers, more so on stage where he is starring.

So Mbeki might have startled delegates at a continental conference in Mombasa with his brutal assessment of Africa’s prospects.

Second decade

In a frank assessment of the march to the so-called Africa Renaissance, Mbeki warned the continent was losing the second decade of the 21st century just like it had squandered the first.

"With things that happen around the continent, we may very well be losing the second decade," Mbeki told participants at the second Africa Governance, Leadership and Management Convention at the Sarova Whitesands, Mombasa.

Hardly surprising, the curse of corruption and inept leadership would feature prominently as ills that have aborted the African dream.

Dr Tegegnework Gettu, head of United Nations Development Programme, African Bureau, sounded an alarm most countries were not on track to meeting the Millennium Development Goals.

Maternal mortality especially was worse, he said, adding: "Giving birth in Sub-Saharan Africa is such a risky affair because mothers do not have access to skilled health care."

Mbeki, who ruled South Africa, Africa’s economic powerhouse, between June 1999 and September 2008, is among leaders who mooted the Africa Renaissance in 2000. He is among architects of the New Partnership for African Development, so his warning is no idle talk.

Citing the famine ravaging the region reported to be the worst in 60 years, Vice- President Kalonzo said: "One gets the feeling that if we are not careful, the second decade of the 21st century would present major challenges."

The conference, whose theme was Harnessing Business Growth and Human Development in the 21st Century in Africa: Claiming the Second Decade, closed yesterday.

Renaissance Themed Wedding | Ivory Coast News

Renaissance weddings can be a nice change from the regular formal weddings. Recently my daughter was married, she had this theme, and I will share how we made her dream of a Renaissance wedding a reality. We did this all without the help of anywedding planner.

Ages ago, the real Renaissance weddings were held in castles but more often, they were held out doors under the trees. This wedding was held at a private campground, which is on my sister’s property. Therefore, we had oodles of space for parking as well as for the events of the day. Not a single car showed up in the photos, which was very important for a themed wedding of this era.

We chose an undeveloped portion of my sister’s many acres under a massive oak tree with a lot of character as the focal point. This is where the vows were exchanged and the natural background made for many awesome photographs. To prep the area we simply cut the grass for the chairs for the bride and groom’s family. Everyone else sat on picnic benches lined up like pews.

After the ceremony, nephews of the bride carried the chairs and benches back to the main campground to use.The bride and her party were led down the isle by uncles who played live period music rather than a traditional bridal march. These uncles also played throughout the day for the guests of the Renaissance wedding, which added to the theme.

The bridal party was all in period clothes, even the bride’s 2-year-old son wore a little jester’s costume. The couple’s 8-month-old baby daughter was in a long white dress with a pinafore as was the style back then. The bride and her bridal party wore dresses with the long sleeves tie with leather as a bride would have worn back then.

The food, which was a dish to pass type of dinner, included different types of food that would have been served back in the day of a real Renaissance wedding. There were bowls of salads, fruit and nuts. The bride and groom purchased an 80-pound pig, which was simply skinned, from a local butcher and it was cooked all day over an open fire.

The couple was toasted with Mead, supplied by a local winery.

The wedding cake was also as one would expect a cake from the Renaissance period. It was a simple two-layer cake with green ivy running up around the sides of the cake. The cake top was a smaller replica of the couple’s invitations.

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