In 2013, the African Union adopted Agenda 63, as a blueprint to propel the continent to prosperity within the next 50 years.

As part of the agenda, African countries committed to abolishing visa requirements for all African citizens travelling within the continent by 2018.

According to the second Africa Visa Openness Index, released mid this year, 75 per cent of the countries in the top 20 most visa-open countries are in either Eastern or West Africa, while 20 per cent are in Southern Africa.

Only one country in the top 20 most open to visas is in North Africa (Mauritania), while no countries in Central Africa appear in the top 20.

On January 1, 2013, Rwanda eased visa requirements for African nationals.

All holders of African passports travelling to or transiting through the country are issued an entry visa upon arrival at any Rwandan entry point. And, some countries do not require visas at all.

For Rwandans, however, of the 53 African countries, only 29 allow holders of the Rwandan passport to enter without a visa or issue it on arrival.

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Moving to another country to start a new life is an undoubtedly exciting experience, but also a nerve-wracking and at times, difficult one.

If you’ve moved abroad yourself, or are considering doing so in the future, it can help to read about the experiences of others who have done the same, so we’ve put together this list of 30 of the most interesting expat blogs on the web.

They cover all kind of walks of life and reasons for moving, whether it be family, career, or just the need for a change.

Chicken Ruby

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Suzanne is a mother whose life has taken her and her family away from the UK to South Africa and now Dubai, where she blogs about family life in the UAE, gardening, and more recently about how to cope with ‘empty nest syndrome’!

Blue Abaya

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Blue Abaya takes a look at life in Saudi Arabia from the perspective of Finnish Laura Alho, who describes her new surroundings as the ‘Magic Kingdom’.

She aims to showcase Saudi Arabia’s beauty and encourage people to visit, or even make the move for themselves.

Not Your Average American

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Having made the move from the USA to Ecuador, Angela Drake blogs about her experiences and travels in South America, with a particular focus on the nature, culture and wildlife that she encounters.

Joburg Expat

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This German family of expats moved to Johannesburg in 2010, and while they’ve since moved back, they continue to blog about their experience, not just in South Africa, but also in Singapore and the United States.

Live Work Travel USA

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Dan has lived in the US for 12 years since moving from Germany, and shares his story on his blog, as well as sharing the stories of others with similar experience through regular guest posts.

He also provides a number of resources to those who are thinking about becoming expats themselves.

Tieland to Thailand

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Chris and Angela offer up lifestyle guides for those who are emigrating to Thailand (or anywhere else in the world for that matter).

They’re a great example of a couple which broke free of the mould of ‘normal’ careers, and jumped ship for a new life on the other side of the world, and more importantly, made it work!

An Expat’s Norway

This expat from El Salvador initially spent nine years in Paris, before settling in Norway, where she met her future husband, and her blog explores all aspects of Scandinavian life from an expat’s perspective.

Retired in Samar

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Written by a retired American, now living in the Philippines, this blog is a great advocate of the slower pace of life that living abroad can offer, especially when the time comes to settle down for retirement.

In Search of a Life Less Ordinary

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This blog discusses moving abroad, as well as having a strong personal development vibe. It really helps to explain the benefits that moving to another country can have on your life and wellbeing, and it certainly worth a read for those who are currently in two minds.

Petite Adventures

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Although she lives here in the UK, it’s still interesting to read the experiences of Kate, a Canadian who blogs about her life as an expat here in the UK and also about her travels around the rest of Europe.

Travels in Translation

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This blog started out as a simple Tumblr account for Beth Williams to chronicle her experiences studying in Japan but has morphed into an expat blog about life in Japan, Hong Kong and the rest of Asia.

English Wife, Indian Life

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This young English mum has been raising her children in India, after taking a leap of faith after meeting her future husband online.

Her takes a particular focus on the experiences and challenges of raising a family abroad and what it has taught her.

And Here We Are

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This family blog covers expat life in the UK, Spain and Germany, as well as sharing stories of the family’s travels across Europe and plenty of cooking tips too.

Notes From Over There

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This blog focuses on life in Shanghai, so is a great read for anyone who has been considering making a move to the Far East.

Although the blog writer has now settled down in Leicester, it still makes an interesting read for those considering a move!

Tropical Treasure Hunter

This blog follows Jenny and Paul, a German and Swiss couple who now live in São Paulo, sharing their favourite haunts, and general stories from their experience. They even have a whole section of the blog dedicated to coffee!

Tea Time in Wonderland

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Another blog which focuses on life in London, Tea Time in Wonderland is still worth a read as a great example of what it’s like uprooting a family to a new location, especially with children and teenagers in tow.

The Bohemian Diaries

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For an expat blog which is enriched with some beautiful photos of an equally beautiful country, look no further than The Bohemian Diaries, where Jessica chronicles her life in Bolivia.

She also documents her travels to other countries around South America, such as Colombia and Peru.

Vegemite Vix

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A New Zealander living here in the UK, Vix delivers here stories of her expat life with a dash of humour and quirkiness.

Driving Like a Maniac

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Kate’s engaging blog posts discuss her life living in Italy, and give a great and entertaining insight into expat life, taking in everything from food to work, and offering up some more general tips for travelling the world.

Cosette Paneque

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Cosette is a Cuban-American who now lives in Melbourne, charting her experiences of her big move, and offering practical tips.

She also shares book recommendations and blogs about all things social media and blogging itself too.

Olive, Feta & Ouzo

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As you can probably tell from the title, this blog is all about expat life in Greece, although the author, Amanda, has lived in four countries in nine years, having moved from Qatar to Greece.

The blog is very photography heavy and also shares plenty of great recipes which Amanda has picked up during her time in Greece.

Sydney Moving Guide

Instead of being a personal, chronicle of the experiences of one individual or family’s experiences moving abroad, this blog is a straightforward, practical guide on everything you need to know about moving to Sydney (although some of the information could be applied elsewhere).

The blog covers everything from visa to moving house and is an invaluable guide to anyone making a move to the Harbour City.

The Thailand Life

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This blog follows the life of Peter, whose journey started out like many others, travelling around Thailand in his twenties.

However, nine years on, and Peter is still loving life in Southeast Asia, and now runs this blog where he offers up tips to both expats and those who are just visiting the country, such as advice on working in Thailand and learning the language.

Brown Bear Travels

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British couple Emma and Stewart are on a ‘working holiday’ in Canada. Having travelled to

Toronto, Niagara Falls, the Rockies, Vancouver and more, they’ve now settled in Toronto, where they blog about their expat adventure in North America.

Taraustralis

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Tara certainly has lived an interesting life! Having been born in the US, she spent many years working as a TV producer in Washington DC, before moving to Sydney.

However, her real passion is NASA, and Tara blogs a lot about various projects she has worked on with them.

Liv Hambrett

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Liv is an Aussie writer and teacher who takes a humorous look at her life in Germany, particularly her struggles with the language and the distinctly non-Australian weather!

Invading Holland

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Stuart is ‘an accident prone Englishman living in the Netherlands’, who moved over 15 years ago and fell in love with everything Dutch.

His blog is a journal of his life as an expat, putting a spin of British humour on everything as he goes!

Travels of Adam

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While this blog mainly chronicles Adam’s travels around the world, it’s worth following from an expat point of view, because he’s an American who now calls Berlin home.

Expat Aussie in NJ

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This expat Aussie provides a humorous look into life in the USA from an outsider’s perspective.

While it’s an entertaining read, it’s also a useful resource for anyone thinking of relocating, either to the US or anywhere else in the world.

Pick Up the Fork

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Allie is an American who grew up in Chicago, but attended university in Buenos Aires over ten years ago and never looked back. Now she runs this blog, highlighting all the culinary delights that the city has to offer.

 

The original article was posted on the Globe Hunters website here.

A US-Africa energy summit scheduled for later September has been cancelled after African invitees were denied US visas, organisers said on Wednesday.

A notice to prospective attendees said the fully booked two-day event would not take place “because of the denial of US visas to the vast majority of registered African participants, which, as a result, defeated the purpose of the summit and made it untenable”.

Olivier Kamanzi, the Rwandan head of the Chicago-based Africa Global Chamber of Commerce, was among the scheduled speakers at the summit set to take place in Madison, the capital of the state of Wisconsin.

The ambassadors to the US from Botswana, Ghana and South Africa were also listed as speakers, along with the coordinator of former President Obama’s Power Africa programme.

TRUMP POLICY

“This is part of a broad policy of the Trump administration to deny, stall and obstruct visa requests regardless of their source,” said Samba Baldeh, a native of Gambia and an elected official in Madison.

“These denials are for everyone, from visits from a member of an immediate family, to former heads of state.”

The inability of most invitees from Africa to obtain US visas “squandered a great opportunity for energy-deprived nations to work with advanced energy providers of the US and Wisconsin,” Mr Baldeh added in comments reported by the Wisconsin State Journal.

“This policy isolated the US from the business and culture of the rest of the world.”

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Karen Quintos, Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer at Dell Globally, said women’s entrepreneurship rates are growing more than 10% each year. In fact, women are as likely – if not more likely than men to start businesses in many markets. However, financial, cultural and political barriers can limit the success of these businesses.

Quintos commented on the company’s Dell Women Entrepreneur Cities Index 2017, an evaluation of a city’s ability to attract and support female entrepreneurs.

According to the Index, Nairobi and Johannesburg are the only African cities in its selection of top 50 (an additional 25 cities compared to the 2016 research) international cities, offering a favourable platform in support of female entrepreneurs.

Johannesburg and Nairobi were ranked 28th and 33rd respectively, based on access to capital, markets, talent, technology and culture.

According to industry research, women remain under-represented in the ICT sector.

The ISACA 2017 women in technology survey states, “Women in tech are still facing significant barriers in the workplace, from a shortage of women role models, to gender-based pay gap, to persistent gender bias that nearly 90% of them say they have experienced.”

ISACA notes that eight in ten women report their supervisors are male; nine in ten are concerned about the number of women in the tech field; one in five companies are very committed to hiring and advancing women in tech roles, and one in five organisations are not at all committed to hiring and advancing women in tech roles.

The organisation identifies the top barriers experienced by women in technology as being the lack of mentors, female role models in the field, workplace gender bias, unequal growth opportunities and unequal pay compared to male counterparts.

In the survey, Jo Stewart-Rattray, board director of ISACA and director of information security and IT assurance at BRM, is quoted as saying, “Women should be encouraged to be confident and persistent in pursuit of their technology careers and a mentor in the field, whether male or female, can be the most effective person to make that case.”

Former board director of ISACA and director of the assurance and advisory management program at The Home Depot, Krysten M. McCabe says the first step to encouraging more women to pursue a career in technology is educating current technology leaders that gender diversity in the workforce is valuable and important.

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