Webcast sponsored by Irving K. Barber Learning Centre. What are the African Dreams of the students within Vancouver? How do students see themselves being active actors in Re-Writing the story of Africa? 6 students will give 15 minute presentations (much like Ted Talks) about their dreams for and within Africa, and the role that they hope to play in the actualization of these dreams. This will be followed by a moderated discussion within the group.
Facilitator:
Beza Feleke is a 2010 UBC Alumnae – graduated with a degree in Anthropology with a focus on Medical Anthropology. In her years at UBC, Beza was extensively involved in student clubs and community initiatives – such as -Caribbean African Association, African Awareness Initiative,International Peer Program , Peer Program Executive Committee etc. As an Ethiopian-Canadian immigrant, Beza recognized the importance of community service within her local and global community – currently the co-founder of a youth-led initiative – Habesha Mentorship Vancouver Program and on the Board of Directors of a Non-profit organization – DESTA (Development of Ethiopian Society Through Action) – Beza has come to celebrate her journey as an immigrant, a women of colour and ultimately a global citizen. Beza is currently working as a Clinical Assistant in Cardiology for Providence Health Care -she wishes to pursue a career in public health and community advocacy work.
Habesha MVP Blog: http://habeshamvp.wordpress.com/about/
Speakers:
A native of Nairobi, Kenya, Ngwatilo Mawiyoo has steadily built a name for herself as a poet, performer and writer. In 2010 she published her first collection of poems, “Blue Mothertongue“, set in Nairobi and the African diaspora around notions of home and identity. The work was produced in part with the support of a St. Lawrence University fellowship. Ngwatilo’s poems and essays have been translated into German and Swedish, and published in English literary journals in Kenya and North America.
Ngwatilo has presented her work at major African and European festivals, including Zimbabwe’s HIFA, South Africa’s Poetry Africa Festival, Berlin’s International Poetry Festival and other prestigious festivals in The Netherlands, Sweden and Germany. In 2013 she was an Artist-in-Residence at Bundanon Trust in Australia.
Ngwatilo enjoys creating unique collaborative poetry-in-performance concepts in an aesthetic dubbed “Puesic” [pew-zik], in which various instruments and mediums come together to ‘tell’ the poem. In 2011 she collaborated with UN Messenger of Peace ambassador and musician Sara Mitaru to produce the EP album titled “Introducing Ngwatilo.”
Ngwatilo’s current work explores the lived experience of diverse rural Kenyan communities. The project took her across the country between 2012 and 2013 to live with several families over a period of 10 days each. This work is the focus of her thesis in her studies at UBC’s Master of Fine Arts program in Creative Writing.
As an actress, Ngwatilo appears on the small screen in some of Kenya’s more notable drama series. She makes her film debut in Ekwa Msangi’s forthcoming Focus Features Africa First short film, “Soko,” currently in production.
Useful links:
Ngwatilo at TEDxNairobi: http://youtu.be/MJcc6Slt0UA
Introducing Ngwatilo on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/ngwatilo-mawiyoo/id490312750
Ngwatilo in Performance [Puesic]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23ym0Qvg14s
Amartei Armar hails from the land of gold and cocoa (Ghana). He takes great pride in where he is from, as he believes that it is through cultural diversity and uniqueness that we find the will to innovate and bring a fresh perspective to what exists currently. The current Vice President Marketing for the Africa Awareness Initiative and BFA Film Production student, his dream is to journey back to Ghana and start a cultural renaissance by revamping the ideas and practices of Ghana’s ancient civilization and modernizing it to fit this current age. He ultimately wants to give all artists a stronger voice within Africa, as they are keepers of culture and have arguably the greatest role in preserving our history. Currently, Amartei is shooting his 4th Year Thesis Project, “Arc”, and is very excited for all of you to see it!
Born and bred in Southern Africa, Nabet and Fares Fani have had the bounty of living in Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa. Both have graduated with commerce degrees from the University of Cape Town; Nabet specializing in Organizational Psychology and Fares in Finance and Economics. With a strong belief in education as a key that unlocks the doors of progress they have, as of 2005, been acting as facilitators and trainers of the Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program, a global educational initiative, inspired by the teachings of the Baha’i Faith, that fosters the development of youth ages 11 -14. They have served in this capacity in Namibia, South Africa and now in Canada where Nabet is currently dedicating a year of service to continue working with youth populations in Surrey, whilst Fares is coordinating the program in a neighbourhood in Burnaby. Besides his love for service, Fares is an avid tennis and chess player and was chosen to represent the Namibian national tennis and chess team.
Daisy Gobina is a fourth year student at UBC, studying Political Science and an Economics minor. Being a witty person Daisy moves everyone around her with her words. So simple and straight forward yet so funny and engaging. She has been heavily involved in the African Awareness initiative and serves as the clubs Vice President Administration. Passionate about AAI’ s dream, she has helped build the community within the club which in itself is a mini family. She aspires to be involved in policy making in the future for her country (Cameroon). Having an opportunity to influence and impact people’s lives in a much larger way.
Jacob Gebrewold is an 18 year old entrepreneur, poet and activist that is engaged as a speaker in events across Vancouver and British Columbia. As an award-winning poet, Jacob often clashes with key systemic issues that lead to social injustice and despair in our world. In this talk, Jacob will be challenging the harmful means by which black men find identity that perpetuates disparity between social classes and the negative circumstances that are common in the African-North American community.
Select Articles and Books Available at UBC Library
Mawiyoo, N. (2011). The end of a love affair (mina agossi). World Literature Today, 85(5), 53-53. [Link]
UBC Library Research Guides