SSA Community Summit 2023 Kigali - Rwanda

The happy SSA community Leads

The Sub- Sahara Africa community summit is a 2-day time for Google developer programs ie. GDE, GDG, WTM and GDSC around Sub-Sahara Africa region to connect, share knowledge, network and have fun together. This year it happened in Kigali, Rwanda on the 5th - 6th October at four points by Sheraton with over 100 + attendees from 21 countries. It is such an honor that I was one of the attendees for this year’s summit.

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MY JOURNEY TO KIGALI.

My journey started with a 3 hour drive from Jinja to Kampala old taxi park, we didn't have quite any issues, i was traveling with my baby but he was so peaceful, waving to everyone and enjoying himself.

When we reached at the old taxi park, we had to grab another taxi heading to Entebbe, Bugonga where we were going to spend the night, it was a 2 hour drive. i hate last minute staff and being stressed so i  wanted to be near the airport.

One of the highlights of the journey was passing through the Express highway where the serene atmosphere offered a refreshing break from the long journey.

At 7:00 am I was already awake to prepare myself for my flight to Kigali, it was as if my baby knew there was a flight to catch, he was up early too, we got a motor bike to the airport, it was a 5 minutes drive.

We reached Kigali, Rwanda at 10:30 am Rwandan time, excited and looking forward to having a great 2-day experience.

Ever traveled with an infant! what was your experience? share in the comments.

 

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DAY 1: 05 OCTOBER

We had welcoming notes, introductions (who is in the house) and there was also a shout outs to the countries in the house by Ada Nduka Oyom.

We had quite a lot of enlightening and refreshing speaker sessions from the keynote by John Kimani, Creating value and opportunities by Jochen Kirstätter to the fireside chats.

I learnt a lot in keeping your team / organizers motivated by Fongoh Martin, Running a thriving tech community alongside a successful full time career by Buchi Michelle Okonicha and how to embrace failure by Mileke Kolawale. It was really great learning from their experiences and tips.

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WTM DIVERSITY DINNER!!!

The incredible amazing Women had to rock in their dinner dresses and gown, we had a panel session moderated by Allela and I am remarkable session by Dija where one had to share what makes them remarkable on the professional side and the other side. It was really amazing to hear their beautiful stories and it was inspiring.

The amazing ladies

Party time, we had a karoke and dinner.

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DAY 2: 06 OCTOBER

This was another incredible day filled with learning, sharing and games.

We had breakout sessions i.e. IOT for beginners by Eunice Allela and Lazy community hacks by  Sodiq Akinjobi where I learnt sending emails and certificates to multiple number of people easily using Google sheets.

Breakout Session 1: IoT for beginners                         Breakout Session 2: Lazy community hacks

There was also awarding ceremony to leads for the great impact they had caused in their communities including making videos and writing articles on google technologies.

Rising star award                             Abdulaziz Akanbi

  GDSC impact award                       Peace Mirembe Rebecca

GDE Impact award                             Amani Bisimwa

WTM High impact award                   Buchi Michelle

GDG impact community award           Marvin Ngesa

Community Mentorship award           Jochen Kirstätter

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Award winning leads

Later we had games which were focused on team building and bonding. This still a great time to get to know people and make more friends.

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PARTY PARTY!!!

It was a National jersey themed dinner where the organizers rocked in their national jerseys and well we rocked it..

Throughout the Summit we had great healthy food and drinks... What good could it do if I don't talk about the meals.

Meet the team that made sure we have the best time at the #SSACommunitySummit23. Thank you for the selfless time and support our SSA Devrel team Khadija Juma, Eunice Allela, Sodiq Akinjobi, Ada Nduka Oyom and John Kimani, thank you for giving a great environment to me and my Baby Muhammed. May the lord continue to Bless You all.

The SSA Devrel team

In conclusion Personally me and Muhammed had lots of fun, we had a great 2- day memorable time in Kigali, and I look forward to implement all that I learnt and make a positive impact in the tech community.

Stay tuned to know which country will host the next #SSACommunitySummit24?

Photo credit: Julius Mushiro