Is it still possible to ask this question in 2010?

Isn’t the answer obvious ?

Well no ! It was the question I was asking myself three years ago, even though I had been working as a consultant and Java trainer for seven years. In 2007, my ex-colleague Éric Marcoux (Oracle ACE Director) suggested I join JUG Québec (Canada). I said JUG ? Java User…What ?

Several months later, I went to JavaOne 2008 and when I saw so many developers, architects, architects, engineers from so many countries and so many amazing projects...

... and heard Matt Thompson from SUN and nearly 40 JUG Leaders talk about importance of the Java community at «Think Globaly and Act Localy» session and met Micheal Levin the co-founder of the impressive SeneJUG in West Africa, the question wasn’t «What’s a JUG?» anymore but rather «How can a sense of community and belonging be fostered among Java developper in Africa ?». For me the need of JUG-AFRICA became evident.

After talking with Java developpers across Africa, I think JUG-AFRICA could help adress questions such as :

* How to take part in international and regional events ?
* How to increase the visibility of the communities accross the word ?
* How to create link with Java communities across the word ?