Social Media Week Lagos 2014 | Obi Asika, Ngozi Odita Prepare to Host Africa’s Biggest Social Media Event

 SMW Lagos is part of the larger Social Media Week global conference, now in it’s 6th year and attended by over 66,000 people annually.  Social Media Week’s mission is to help people and organizations connect through collaboration and the sharing of ideas and information.  The format of the week-long conference is a mixture of keynotes, panels, workshops, networking events and mixers, with the majority of the events being free and open to the public.

Lagos joins New York, Milan, Tokyo, Copenhagen, Hamburg and Barcelona to host the February 2014 edition of Social Media Week, powered globally by Nokia.  SMW Lagos will be guided by the global theme “The Future of Now: Always On, Always Connected.” Locally, SMW Lagos will explore the theme “A Connected Africa Is The Future.”  Both themes will set the stage for engaging discussions on the impact a connected continent of 1 Billion people have on Africa, local industries and the world at large.“We are really excited to be coming back to Lagos and looking forward to working with amazing event partners, sponsors and the entire community to deliver an incredible week of programming.  In our second year in Nigeria we aim to lead the conversation and further establish SMW Lagos as the number one new media and communications technology conference on this great continent.” —  Obi Asika, Founder of Dragon Africa and SMW Lagos Chairman

“It’s a very exciting time in Nigeria and across the continent.  People increasingly have access to the tools to change their lives, their communities and ultimately Africa.  Social media is one of those tools. Being connected to one another and the world in real-time empowers Africans to make more informed decisions and directly influence local/global conversations.  During SMW Lagos 2014 we’ll look at social media’s impact on Africa’s dynamic business, cultural and political landscape and discuss what implications this has on the future of Africa”  — Ngozi Odita, Founder of AFRIKA21 and Executive Director of SMW Lagos

With the expressed purpose of bringing Nigerians, Africans and the global community together SMW Lagos invites Lagosians and the world to contribute to the week’s programming by hosting their own events, talks, panel sessions and workshops.  Individuals and organizations can get involved by submitting their idea here: http://socialmediaweek.org/submit-event.  Deadline for submissions is December 6, 2013.  

For more information on how to get involved, please email lagos@socialmediaweek.org.  For the latest news and updates visitwww.socialmediaweek.org/lagos or follow SMW Lagos on Twitter via @SMWLagos or on Facebook viafacebook.com/SMWLagos.

ABOUT DRAGON AFRICA
Established by Obi Asika and Dragon Associates founder Charlie Methven, Dragon Africa uses its wealth of knowledge and understanding of Africa and Europe, with extensive contacts in the media, government, and financial centres, to address challenges and maximise opportunities for African companies seeking a cutting edge advantage in London and other major financial centres

ABOUT AFRIKA21
AFRIKA21 was conceptualized by Society HAE as a media and production outfit that could take a multidisciplinary approach to promoting a new vision of Africa in the 21st Century. AFRIKA21 produces online content, multimedia events and public programming with the expressed purpose of reframing the conversation around Africa, creating awareness of the opportunities that exist on the continent and encouraging collaboration.

ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA WEEK
Social Media Week, powered globally by Nokia, is a worldwide event exploring the social, cultural and economic impact of social media. Our mission is to help people and organizations connect through collaboration, learning and the sharing of ideas and information.www.socialmediaweek.org

Photo: The SMW Lagos branding image of the Lagos skyline was provided by ‘a whitespace’ and photographed by Folarin Shasanya