Glocal Citizens

Greetings Glocal Citizens!

Increasingly, I am thinking thoughts about places of being that better reflect citizen-centered social, economic and built enviroments. In recent conversation with Paul Damalie and following the works of another fellow GC, Chinedu Echeruo (which happens to be how I came across this week’s guest), those thoughts are beginning to rise into a mental framework for manifesting that new world. Born and raised in Nigeria, Victor Ndukwe is an Architect that has evolved over the years straddle tech and design. He is currently a founding team member of Itana (formerly Talent City) and is positioned to change the environmental and economic landscape in Africa.

Victor developed a keen mind for technical things in his formative years and honed his creativity in architecture school. He is a T-shaped individual with strong skills in Architecture and environmental planning and secondary skills in programming - a hardcore java developer once upon a time. He has worked in architecture firms, software development firms, real estate development firms, and now city developers. He has his eyes set on developing the infrastructure in Africa by unlocking capital for development as well as solving the critical problem of energy in Africa. Victor’s optimism and committment are clear as you’ll come to understand in our conversation, and with this blueprint, his vision is looking like a present many on the Continent have been anticipating.

Where to find Victor?
Find out more about the Donacare Foundation
On LinkedIn
On X

What’s Victor listening to?
[Johann Sebastian Bach](lin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGA1v6gZj1s)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
George Frideric Handel

Other topics of interest:
Umahia or Ama Ahia in Abia State, Nigeria
About Governor Alex Otti
Discovery Channel
Charter Cities Institute
Computer Village. Ikeja Lagos
The Echelon Conspiracy Film
NIIT Nigeria
Free Trade Zones in Nigeria
What is Industry 3.0?

Special Guest: Victor Ndukwe.

Greetings Glocal Citizens!

Did you miss us? We missed you! September threw me for a bit of a loop with travel and wifi access which resulted in a brief break. My travels took me on a Northern Lights adventure through remote Alaska where we actually experienced the North Pole! Then it was a return to summer in the southern U.S. with a grounding trip to Atlanta, Georgia.

I’m back in NYC for this two-part episode and taking a stroll down a few Brooklyn memory lanes with my guest, Ky Adderley is a leadership and education expert, mentor, super connector; and networking guru, a persistent link between people and their dreams. He has conducted school reviews and training for teachers and principals on three continents – North America, South America, and Africa – working to increase the number of quality schools and leaders available to low-income children worldwide. He has been a leader in the education sector for 20 years, and has more recently pivoted in the direction of sports management. Coming from a family known for professional athletes he is no stranger to sports and operations. He was an All-American high school and collegiate runner at Georgetown University going on to run as an Olympic hopeful before hanging up his spikes to focus on giving back to the communities that raised him. Also an advocate for social justice education, he has been nicknamed by some: “Know Justice, Know Peace.” Ky has recently taken on a new role as Vice President of Maven Sports Group. We know this too will be a smashing success for Ky--Congratulations!!

Where to find Ky?
www.kyadderley.com
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On X

What’s Ky reading?
The Art of War by Sun Zu
Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia with Bill Gifford
The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months by Brian P. Moran, Michael Lennington

Other topics of interest:
Germantown, Pennsylvania
Mount Airy, Pennsylvania
Frank Gagliano
Ganas! meaning
Teach for America
KIPP and David Levin
Kung Fu Theater
Capoeira
Cannonball Adderley
Professional Football Hall of Fame Cornerback Herb Adderley
Nasifr Adderley
About Cash Money Records
Father Raymong Kemp
About Ky's work with Danielle Fazio
About Match Fit Academy

Special Guest: Ky Adderley.

Greetings Glocal Citizens! This week my guest is Amanda "Chirpy” Obidike, founder and Executive Director of Stemi Makers Africa. Amanda's expertise span from Project management and Operations, Education and Community building, Technology and Data Science. She’s a certified professional in STEM by the Open University, United Kingdom and Team lead of The Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and Innovation Makers of Africa (STEMi Makers Africa) where she created sustainable and implementable projects in over 75 under-served Communities across 17 Sub-Saharan countries by preparing the next generation of innovators with technology emerging tools, real-world problem-solving akills they need to excel in lucrative fields and become more experienced for Africa's workforce by 2030.

A social entreprenuer at her core, Amanda is also a very active and effective advocate for mentorship of women, girls and young people in Africa. Amanda is the founding curator of the Global Shapers Community of the Ozubulu Hub in Anambara Nigeria; she also volunteers as a mentor with the New York Academy of Sciences, the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women in the UK, and the Global Thinkers Forum, to name a few.

Where to find Amanda?

• STEMi Makers Africa
• On Twitter
• On Facebook
• On LinkedIn
• On Instagram

What’s Amanda reading?

• There Was a Country: A Memoir by Chinua Achebe
  

Other topics of interest—

• Project Kuongoza

Special Guest: Amanda "Chirpy" Obidike.

Happy New Year Glocal Citizens!

We're starting 2021 on a "write" note. This week my guest is Sala Elise Patterson, a communication, content and brand strategist, and writer. Sala began her career as an editor at Conde Nast Traveler Magazine in New York before leaving to work in international cooperation in the wake of 9-11. That work took her to Rome and Dar es Salaam with the United Nations; to Paris with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; and to Tunis with the African Development Bank.

In 2012, she founded her own communication advisory firm, Songhai Group, which serves international organizations, cultural institutions and mission-driven companies. Clients have included World Bank, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, McKinsey & Company, World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), Galerie Number 8 and National Urban League, among others.

Throughout her career, Sala has written on art, culture and lifestyle. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times Style Magazine, Harvard Design Magazine, The Atlantic’s CityLab, KINFOLK, Ford Foundation Report, TRUE Africa, the Musée D’Orsay exhibition catalogue for The Black Model: From Géricault to Matisse and in the short, experimental documentary film, Protect, for which she was the screenwriter.

Sala is a native Washingtonian and product of DC Public Schools. She holds a BA in African-American Literature from Columbia University (cum laude), an MSc in Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies and speaks Italian, French, Portuguese and a bit of Japanese. She lives with her husband and 12-year old son in Rome, where she is currently on assignment with the World Bank.

Where to find Sala?
www.salapatterson.com
On LinkedIn
On Instagram

What’s Sala reading and writing?
•The Sun Magazine
•Rita Dove
•James Baldwin
•Toni Morrison
•Lost in the City by Edward P. Jones
•Siddharta Mitter
• On Teju Cole
• On Adrienne "Ady" Fidelin

What’s Sala listening to?
FIP Radio

Other topics of interest-
• Ady in Works
• Man Ray
• Niama Safia Sandy
• School of African and Oriental Studies University

Special Guest: Sala Elise Patterson .

Greetings Glocal Citizens!

This week we're back in East Africa in conversation with Kenyan, Farhan Guled, coming to you in two parts. Farhan takes us with him from his native homeland to Europe and back to East Africa where he is currently Executive Director of Salaam Bank Limited in Kampala, Uganda; he has been instrumental is building the bank's start-up operation in the country. Born and raised in Kenya he began his entreprenuearship journey as founder of Maisha Fitness Center in Nairobi. Wearing many professional hats, Farhan is a "Multipotentialite Creative Thinker" offering an off the shelf business growth consultancy. As a visionary strategist, he helps businesses with the right intuitive and informative strategies that guarantee transformational growth. In his service endeavors, he is a board member of The Young Leaders of Finance (Le Club des Jeunes Dirigeants Financiers), which gathers young and mid-level professionals with various backgrounds who work with or within the financial sector taken in the broad sense. Some highlights of our conversation are Farhan's in depth tutorial on the links between Islamic finance and sustainable development goals as well as his delight with the sites and sounds of Uganda. Like me, I think you'll be ready to book your visit straight away!

Where to find Farhan?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On X

What’s Farhan Reading?
Burn the Boats: Toss Plan B Overboard and Unleash Your Full Potential by Matt Higgins

Other topics of interest:
On Islamic Banking and Finance
Salaam African Bank
Jinja, Uganda
Fort Portal, Uganda and traditions of the Tooro Kingdom
Kabale, Uganda: City of Peace
About Merck HQ Germany
Afrika Kommt

Special Guest: Farhan Guled.