In June of 2014, the tech climate in Nigeria shifted dramatically when The Rockefeller Foundation announced a $500,000 grant in favor of Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN). PIN is an ongoing project headed by social entrepreneur Gbenga Sesan that strives to familiarize underprivileged Nigerian youth with future careers in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). PIN’s Life…
London’s Kensington Gardens has hosted an architectural exhibition every year since 2000, but this year’s installation is a landmark occasion. It marks the first time that an African architect has designed a structure for the Serpentine Pavilion. Considered a centerpiece of London’s cultural summer season, being selected for the Serpentine Pavilion exhibition is a rare…
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has praised the creator of a secret Facebook group that provides an online haven for Nigerian woman. Lola Omolola, a Nigerian woman now based in Chicago, created the group in 2015. Lola says that Facebook helped her to “create the world I wish to live in and have my eight and ten-year-old inherit.” Her group…
In the United States, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are designated by Congress as institutions that provided higher education to African American students prior to 1964. In March 2017, Howard University, the most iconic HBCU, celebrated 150 years of advancing knowledge with a positive announcement: enrollment statistics were on the rise and diversity…
National Albinism Awareness Day takes place on Tuesday, June 13. According to the Albino Foundation, the United Nations General Assembly made a declaration at its sixty-ninth session on December 14th, 2014 that International Albinism Awareness Day would take place every year on this day. This day of celebration is used to “draw attention to states and members…
Esther Muthoni Passaris is known in Kenya in the world of politics and philanthropy. Born in the coastal city of Mombasa to Greek and Kenyan Kikuyu parents, she has become a successful businesswoman and philanthropist, establishing the much lauded “Adopt-A-Light” program, which succeeded in reducing crime by increasing lighting in many poverty-stricken neighbourhoods. She also possesses…
André Alexis, one of Canada’s premier playwrights and novelists, is now recognized for the scope of his bibliography as the winner of the 2017 Windham-Campbell Prize. This coveted American literary prize, known for awarding one of the richest literary prize amounts in the world, recognizes Alexis’ entire body of diverse creative works. Alexis was born in…
Venice Biennale is an arts organization in Venice, Italy that organizes a prestigious bi-annual contemporary art exhibition. Art collectors and dealers flock to the event and it helps artists get discovered and make sales. This year is a landmark year for Nigeria, with a special pavilion for Nigerian artists included. This is the first time in…
The glamorous stage where the English National Ballet performs is worlds away from the grinding poverty of the Kuwinda slum in Kenya. Yet that stage appears to be where one former Kuwinda resident is destined to be seen. Sixteen-year-old Joel Kioko is a phenomenon in the ballet world. Like many male dancers, he came to…
FOLD 2017 accomplished its mission. As a Festival of Literary Diversity, the second-annual event brought together established and emergent writers of varied backgrounds in a space that fed their souls, created dialogue and provided down-to-earth guidelines and information about writing and publishing. Held recently in Brampton, Ontario, a city known for its culturally diverse population, FOLD…
