<html>
<head>
<style><!--
.hmmessage P
{
margin:0px;
padding:0px
}
body.hmmessage
{
font-size: 10pt;
font-family:Tahoma
}
--></style>
</head>
<body class='hmmessage'><div dir='ltr'>
<BR>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><STRONG>Shaking a leg at IGF Gala night</STRONG></SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><STRONG>By Mutwiri Mutuota</STRONG></SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB></SPAN></FONT></FONT> </P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>NAIROBI</SPAN><SPAN lang=EN-GB>, Kenya</SPAN><SPAN lang=EN-GB>, September 29- Techies worldwide are known more for their devoted love of gadgets and fiddling with the same for hours on end.</SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">However, they too have their human side and on Wednesday night, participants at the 6th Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Nairobi tucked away their laptops, iPhones, iPads and any portable electronic gadget at their disposal to put their best foot forward.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">The occasion was the gala opening of the IGF hosted by the Kenyan government where only intermitted short speeches (tech savvy folk prefer to do most of their talking by fingers, mind you) interrupted the explosion of fan.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">Top Kenyan Ministry of Information and Communication led by the minister, Samuel Poghisio, his Permanent Secretary, Dr. Bitange Demo and Alice Munyua, the chair, Kenya IGF Steering Committee are among those that addressed the gathering.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">Participants from all over the world then got down to sample the best Kenyan cuisine prepared by the famed Carnivore Restaurant of the Tamarind Group in a buffet package served from seven points that sampled delicacies from coastal communities in Kenya.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">The Village Band was at hand and belted out local traditional tunes as the international guests took the opportunity to engage in social banter away from computer related talk.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">And once peoples tummies were full, it was time to be entertained by an enchanting mix of African pop tunes that simply drove the crowd to frenzy.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">Young techies relished the moment to display their dancing skills as songs from various ethnic communities in Kenya including Kalenjin, Agikuyu, Akamba, Abaluhya and Dhuluo, as well as popular numbers from Nigeria, Uganda and Liberia among others blazed the speakers.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">�This is the chance we wanted to give all our visitors to sample what Kenya has to offer,� Poghisio said in his brief remarks.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">For sure, the Gala that earned rave reviews for those who made to the giant tent gave a credible rendition of the vibrancy of the Kenyan society to echo the advancements in information technology that are seeing the development of ever miniature gadgets.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">Sheila Mwanyigha, a celebrated Kenyan media personality was the Emcee of the night that most visitors at the 6th IGF will remember. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">----------KICTANet--------------------------------------------</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><SPAN><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></SPAN></P><BR> <BR>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR>If you have the strength to survive, you have the power to succeed. Life is all about choices we make depending upon the situation we are in. Go forth and rule the World!<BR> </div></body>
</html>