stevevosloo’s blog

My name, Steven, is from the "Greek name Στεφανος (Stephanos) meaning "crown"". I think it also means "emperor" because there have been kings and leaders with the name of Steven (a long long time ago). I'm 33 years old and come from Cape Town, South Africa. I'm not too sure about my family history ... I think I'm a mixture of Dutch and German heritage (my maternal grandfather's last name was Schreuder and maternal grandmother's last name was Meissenheimer!) But, personally, I feel totally South African -- not European, but African.

I speak English, Afrikaans (my parents' first language) and a little bit of isiXhosa, which is the language of the dominant tribe from where I come.

I enjoy travel books, books about Africa, current affairs and history. All time favorite books are below. Ryszard Kapuscinski, author of Shadow of the Sun, is an incredible author.

I'm a huge fan of the Malian musician Ali Farka Toure. Two amazing albums are below. I'm also into house music. I don't go to clubs anymore (well, hardly ever) but still enjoy the tunes, especially to work to (not many words to distract the mind :-).

I'm not into sport. World Cup soccer is good to watch, but the rest just isn't that interesting. However, my friends and family are into sport -- in South Africa, rugby or soccer is LIFE -- and I like listening to them talk about it. Perhaps not watching sport is a product of not having a TV. I haven't owned one for 10 years, and don't miss it at all. The apartment that I'm renting in San Francisco has a TV which is used to watch DVDs. Netflix is the best thing out. Mostly, there just isn't good TV on, but there are plenty of excellent movies to watch. Generally speaking, foreign films are best. These are some great all time flicks:
I love traveling (who doesn't?) and have been to Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Tunisia, Israel, UK, France, Holland, Germany, Italy, Greece, Spain, USA, Ecuador and Brazil. All of them are interesting, but Brazil and Spain were probably the most fun. Madagascar, India are Nepal are high on the list of cool places to go. Developing countries are usually more interesting, less touristy and richer in traditional cultures. And cheaper!

Two heroes in my life are Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, both instrumental figures during South Africa's struggle for democratic freedom. While I don't necessarily agree with everything they've ever said or done, these men have always been full of integrity, dignity, sincerity and bravery. Real role models. I've actually met "the Arch" are few times. A tiny man, but full of life, wisdom and laughter.

I'd like to continue working in technology in non-profit or governmental agencies. In November I start a job at the Shuttleworth Foundation in Cape Town. Maybe one day I'll work for the UN in Geneva.

Finally, I'll begin working with the US group of ProjectVIEW this week. I've been in South Africa in July, running a  workshop and visiting schools there as part of my Digital Hero Book project.