FACE 2019: Speakers

The theme for FACE 2019 is ‘Building the Pan-African Inspired Multiversity.’

A “Multiversity” is a space to affirm, promote, advocate and advance the multiplicity of thought and knowledges as a necessity to vitalize the world’s knowledges, as well as human knowledge as a whole. A multiversal approach recognise the persistent effect of epistemicides and seeks to reverse it. A multiversity seeks to change all the world for the benefit of everyone. These are our list of speakers for FACE 2019. Come join us.

Sir Professor Geoff Palmer OBE was born in Jamaica. He came to London as an immigrant in 1955. After various difficulties, he worked and attended evening classes to improve his qualifications. He subsequently entered Leicester, Edinburgh and Heriot Watt Universities where he gained BSc, PhD and DSc degrees, respectively. He worked at the Brewing Research Foundation on cereals and malted barley. He invented the barley abrasion process, pioneered the use of the Scanning Electron Microscope in the study of cereals in malting and was the first European to receive the American Society of Brewing Chemists award for research. Professor Palmer was also involved in the setting up of the International Centre for Brewing and Distilling at the Heriot Watt University. Sir Geoff is the author of many scientific papers and has published books on grain science and the history of Slavery in the West Indies. He serves on the Boards of various charitable organisations. He is the Freeman of Midlothian and the Honorary Consul for Jamaica in Scotland. Professor Palmer was awarded the OBE in 2003 and a Knighthood in 2014 for his contributions to science, charity and human rights.

Wale Lawal is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Republic, a bimonthly Nigerian and African affairs magazine. He holds degrees from the University of Bath and the London School of Economics. Presently, Wale is the Ọọni Ogunwusi scholar at St. Antony’s College, Oxford University, where researches technology entrepreneurs in Lagos. Wale’s interests cut across media, technology, culture and urban development. A management consultant by training, he leads Strategy and Business Development at GatePass, a mobile community management platform. His short story, “Joy”, was selected by Chris Abani for the 2018 Lagos Noir anthology. He is the Lagos Coordinator of African Mobilities, a German Federal Cultural Foundation-funded initiative that explores the complexities of African migration and the circulation of people, ideas, resources and aesthetics; recently, he collaborated with Brooklyn-based artist, Lekan Jeyifous, to develop Mad Horse City, a short film, VR and graphic novella project that has exhibited in Munich, Johannesburg, Lagos, Chicago and the Berlin Film Festival.

Esther Stanford-Xosei is a Jurisconsult, Pan-Afrikanist community advocate, specialising in the critical legal praxis of ‘law as resistance’ and Reparationist. As a ‘new abolitionist’, Esther serves as the Co-Vice Chair of the Pan-Afrikan Reparations Coalition in Europe (PARCOE). She is also the co-initiator of the ‘Stop the Maangamizi: We Charge Genocide/Ecocide!’ Petition and Campaign (SMWeCGEC). As a historically conscious community-based educator who champions grassroots academia and emancipatory education for liberation and self-reliance, Esther chairs the Maangamizi Educational Trust. In addition, Esther is a co-founder, and recently became a co-facilitator of the International Network of Scholars & Activists for Afrikan Reparations (INOSAAR). She is finalising her PhD at the University of Chichester in the history of the UK contingent of the International Social Movement for Afrikan Reparations.

Dr Shawn Sobers is Associate Professor of Lens Based Media at University of the West of England, and teaches into the BA (Hons) Photography degree, MA Research Practice, and supervises MRes and PhD students across a broad range of subject areas and topics, including creative activism, social history, archiving, photography and film, artists books. Shawn studied Media Anthropology at School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), and has carried out a wide range of research projects spanning diverse topics, ranging from legacies of the slavery, African presence in Georgian and Victorian Britain, disability and walking, Rastafari language and culture, and creative citizenship in social media. As a filmmaker and photographer his work has been exhibited and screened nationally and internationally, and has directed and produced documentaries for BBC1, ITV and Channel 4. Principles relating to community media and participatory practice underpin much of his work. His recent research projects include the Ethiopian connections with the city of Bath, how artists in Bristol have responded to the presence of the Edward Colston statue, and the Black cultural history of everyday life.

Shauna Stewart and Aisha Thomas will be giving a joint presentation addressing the role of the teacher and student in education as well as decolonisation of the curriculum.

Aisha Thomas is a law graduate, an Assistant Principal at City Academy and a Specialist Leader in Education for EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) and Community. Aisha has also joint forces with Bristol Old Vic and Bristol Music Trust to launch the Bristol One Curriculum. 2018 saw Aisha partner with the BCC to present a documentary for Inside Out West, re the lack of Black teachers in Bristol. The documentary received a lot of attention and has since provided Aisha with a platform to give a number of talks and personation to professionals re the lack of diversity in the educations system, including a presentation to the DFE. Aisha is very passionate about this cause and is relentlessly campaigning to change the current state of play in Bristol.

Shauna Stewart is a Bristol native and a qualified Teacher of English. In 2018, Shauna was interviewed as part of Inside Out West’s Black Teachers programme to discuss Bristol’s under-representation of Black teachers. It was during this process that Shauna and Aisha Thomas had the idea to create ‘Culturally Educating’- a platform which raises awareness of under-representation within the black community and looks to promote diversity in education and other social sectors.

Professor Hakim Adi is Professor of the History of Africa and the African Diaspora at the University of Chichester. Hakim was the first historian of African heritage to become a professor of history in Britain. In January 2018, he launched the world’s first online Masters by Research programme on the History of Africa and the African Diaspora and he is the founder and consultant historian of the Young Historians Project http://younghistoriansproject.org/

Hakim is the author of West Africans in Britain 1900-60: Nationalism, Pan-Africanism and Communism (Lawrence and Wishart, 1998); (with M. Sherwood) The 1945 Manchester Pan-African Congress Revisited (New Beacon, 1995) and Pan-African History: Political Figures from Africa and the Diaspora since 1787 (Routledge, 2003). His most recent books are Pan-Africanism and Communism: The Communist International, Africa and the Diaspora, 1919-1939 (Africa World Press, 2013) and Pan-Africanism: A History (Bloomsbury Press, 2018). He is currently writing a book on the history of African and Caribbean people in Britain to be published by Penguin. Hakim has appeared in many documentary films, on TV and on radio and has written widely on the history of Africa and the African Diaspora, including three history books for children. https://www.hakimadi.org/

Dr Furaha Asani is a researcher, mental health advocate, and teacher with a PhD in Infection and Immunity from The University of Sheffield. She is also a writer who has written for online platforms including Times Higher Education, Travel Noire, Media Diversified, Lucy Writers Platform, and Black Ballad amongst others.

Furaha writes about issues in higher education, healthcare, and science in pop culture. She is passionate about taking steps towards an equitable higher education system. Furaha is Congolese (DRC)- Armenian-Ukrainian, and was born and raised in Bauchi, Nigeria. She obtained her undergraduate and Masters degrees in Biochemistry from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa.

She intends to keep using her platform to amplify the voices of Black students and staff in Higher Education.

Ronke Lawal is the founder of Ariatu PR. She was born in Hackney, East London. Having graduated with honours from Lancaster University and the University of Richmond Virginia (USA) with a degree in International Business (Economics), she started her own PR and Communications business in 2004.

In January 2010, Ronke became the Chief Executive of the Islington Chamber of Commerce where she remained until the end of 2012 and became a non-executive director of The Hoxton Apprentice in 2011. She joined the board of Trustees of Voluntary Action Islington in 2012 where she is also a Director of The Voluntary Action Academy and is currently on The Employers Panel for the National Employment Savings Trust. In 2018 she became a director on the board of directors at the Charted Institute of Public Relations. She is a Mentor for The Cherie Blair Foundation, The “Success Looks Like You” Initiative and The BME PR Pros Initiative. In 2011 Ronke Lawal was honoured to receive a Precious Award for Inspirational Leadership. She is a passionate advocate for enterprise, equality for all and leadership. She is also a regular guest contributor and co-host on Talk Radio offering her insights on pop culture, current affairs, business and more. Her varied passions outside the business world include food (Founder of Food Blog www.whosfordinner.co.uk), travel, music, literature and most importantly living a life she loves. Ariatu PR represents a variety of clients in the lifestyle and FMCG sectors – visit www.ariatupr.com for more information.

Dr Chizoba Imoka is an award-winning educator and an acclaimed social justice advocate/practitioner with a PhD in Education Policy & Leadership from the University of Toronto, Canada. Her doctoral research investigated how Nigerian secondary schools are preparing youth to actively participate and engage in transforming Nigeria into an inclusive, just and prosperous nation for all. hizoba has given numerous lectures in these areas including a TED Talk and the prestigious Hancock Lecture at the University of Toronto.

Chizoba is also the founder of Unveiling Africa, a non-profit that provides a platform for African youth to participate in civic and political advocacy. In Nigeria, Chizoba is the convener of the Advocacy for Inclusive Education Summit that brings together students and education stakeholders to discuss equity/inclusion issues in Nigeria’s education sector.

For her public leadership and academic excellence, Chizoba has received numerous awards. They include the 2019 Gordon Cressy Student Leadership Award, 2018 University of Toronto African Alumni Emerging Scholars Awards, 2018 Illuminessence National Awards for Human Rights and Social Justice, 2018 Ontario Graduate Scholarship, 2016 Adrienne Clarkson Laureateship for Public Service, 2016 Adel Sedra Distinguished Graduate Student Award, OISE Academic Excellence Award and Selfless for Africa Award amongst others. between 2014 – 2016, Chizoba was recognized as a leading practitioner in youth engagement and served on the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Civic Participation.

Sipho Mudau is a Zimbabwean born, South African-trained lawyer. He holds an LLM in Intellectual Property, as well as an LLB both from the University of Cape Town. He has worked in a variety of roles within the legal profession: from a traditional law firm, in-house in a large London multinational and his current role in, Libryo, a Legal Tech startup. He is passionate about education and encouraging young Africans to use their skills to better their communities, countries and the continent.

Jendayi Serwah is a trainer, consultant, community activist, mother of 3 and servant leader. Jendayi is the founder of the John Lynch Afrikan Education Programme (JLAEP) in Bristol in 1990, who have spearheaded many programmes over the last 28 years designed to elevate the consciousness of people of Afrikan heritage and mobilise the community into self determined action in pursuit of justice to reduce the impact of the legacy of damage affecting that community trans-generationally for the last 500 years. As a reflection of this, she was also elected to become one of the co vice chairs of the emerging National Afrikan Peoples Parliament, later co founding the Global Afrikan people’s Parliament and is instrumental in steering its course towards being a permanent institution of note acting on behalf of people of Afrikan heritage in the UK and beyond. Jendayi is Co Chair of the London based Afrikan Emancipation Day Reparations March Committee and a member of the International Steering Committee of the Stop the Maangamizi -We Charge Genocide/Ecocide Campaign.

In Bristol she is the convenor of a new pressure group the Afrikan ConneXions Consortium formed in 2016, whose mission is about ‘Advocating Power and Presence in City Affairs’ through seeking to secure substantive representation in Bristol city power bases for the Afrikan Heritage Community Seeking National Self-Determination.

She has over 20 years experience in leadership, leadership incubation, management and strategic development. She also has a track record in community development and activism, notably as the orchestrator of the Operation Truth 2007 campaign aimed at challenging the revisionist history and pseudo commemorations of the abolition of the so-called slave trade in 1807 that took place in Bristol. She is an experienced trainer and facilitator working over 2 decades with the voluntary and statutory sector and is a Lead Trainer in the team at Noble Development Consultancy. Jendayi is also a pioneer in community education for adults and young people, specialising in psycho-social education for change and holds an B.Ed honours degree and an NVQ5 in Management. She was the co author of the History – Afrikan World View 36 week course that ran in Bristol from 1994-2004. She has been a school governor since 2005, holding both vice chair and chair positions during this time.

Jendayi was the Lead Consultant who co-ordinated and delivered a 9 month Transformation Leadership Programme on behalf of Bristol City Council in 2013, was an assistant consultant in the development of Race Council Cymru’s National Black History Arts Strategy in 2016 and carried out a Youth and Community Consultation about youth provision in Barton Hill, Bristol on behalf of Creative Youth Network in 2017/18. She is also a leadership coach and mentor offering personalised development programmes for individuals. She is currently working with Black South West Network on their Black Voluntary Sector Network and Capacity Building Programmes.

Timi Ariyo studied Law at the University of Bristol, and currently works for Goldman Sachs in the Securities Operations division. During his time at Bristol he was a member of the UOB volunteering committee and hosted a show for Burst Radio. Timi also works with Mandela, an online media platform that provides a creative space for minorities to share their experiences within society. Acting in 3 short films for the platform, which focused on sharing the untold stories of black men, Timi is focused on ensuring that Black males have a voice that is heard. 

Fope Olaleye is a final year Politics student at Newcastle University, where they have been elected BAME Network President, as well as Feminist Society President and NUSU LGBT+ part time Officer. They also sit on the NUS Black Students Committee and National Executive Council as Black Students Officer second place and have just been elected Black Students’ Officer for 2019/2020. In these roles Fope campaigns to improve the experiences of BME students across the UK with a particular focus on decolonial practice, Black Women and QTIPOC. They have been featured in Dazed, i_D and BBC Radio 1 extra and are a regular guest speaker at universities across the country leading workshops on what decolonisation means for gender and education.

Katasi Kironde is a keen writer and presenter, her experience in this includes interviewing senior Ugandan government officials for London Tv (AILTV). She currently oversees content management for a cutting edge, law tech start-up in London. She has experience working with different organisations including law firms, management consultancies and charities operating in the development sector including a DFID funded programme which strengthens the rule of law in developing countries, through provision of pro bono legal and judicial expertise. She has previously run high-end design projects, both domestically and internationally. She is passionate about working with youth, involved in diaspora projects to that effect. Additionally, she has facilitated a skills programme aimed supporting underprivileged youth with the Renaissance Foundation.