in conversation with Onyekachi Wambu (AFFORD) and Dr Neil Curtis (Aberdeen University)

These icons, cultural and human, left the continent at a period of a great imbalance in power. As we seek a new equitable and rebalanced relationship between the UK and Africa, this is an important moment to seek win/win opportunities not just in trade but also cultural and human interactions.

Onyekachi Wambu

Welcome to the first in an occasional series of podcasts dedicated to the Return of the Icons.

On behalf of the African Foundation for Development (AFFORD) and our partners in the Commonwealth, we send our sincere condolences to HM Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family on the passing of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. May he rest in perfect peace.

Ndidi Njoku Chair, AFFORD Board of Directors.

AFFORD together with the African Union and the United Nations Population Fund hosted a panel discussion to commemorate International Day of Remembrance of Slavery victims and the Transatlantic Slave Trade on March 25th.

There were opening remarks from Dr. June Bam-Hutchison (Moderator) – University of Cape Town, Centre for African Studies, H.E Mrs. Amira Elfadil, Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, African Union Commission Dr. Natalia Kanem, UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director, UNFPA and our very own Onyekachi Wambu, Executive Director, AFFORD.

The panel assembled by Dr Janice Cheddie reflected on Culture in times of crisis: role of cultural, heritage, and tourism sectors in building forward better post-COVID19. The panel was made up of Akwasi Awua Ababio, Director of Diaspora Affairs, Office of the President. Lead for the Ghana Diaspora Engagement Policy, Alissandra Cummins, Director of Barbados Museum & Historical Society, Chairperson of UNESCO Executive Board (2011-2013) Molemo Moiloa, Head of Research at Andani.Africa and Abdul Karim Abdullah Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Culture Management Group (CMG) and Afrochella Festival.

It’s with great sadness that we learn of the passing of Charles Godfrey Kazibwe, CEO of Transform Africa and friend to AFFORD.

Onyekachi Wambu, our Executive Director paid tribute to a fellow Diaspora Warrior.

It was a great shock to learn of Charles’ death. He was a great believer in Africa. His organisation worked tirelessly with ordinary African people in several countries on a transformation agenda. Those close to him recall the hours and time he spent on behalf of the continent. He was a great exemplar of organised diaspora in action. A man of integrity and vision. He will be greatly missed by all of us in the sector. We offer sincere condolences to his family.

Charles was a true stalwart of African development – his death will no doubt leave a huge vacuum. I recall our engagement on his many fundraising and crowdfunding efforts for Transform Africa and his willingness to share his journey with us. May his diasporic legacy live on.

Stella Opoku-Owusu, Deputy Executive Director, AFFORD

Charles was planning on retiring this year and going home to Uganda, completing his disaporic journey. We know it’s tough for everyone out there but if you can, please help his family to make that a reality.

Support here.

Thank you.

We’ve had a crisis. We can see where the cracks are even more now than we did before. So it really is about how we fix the situation. How do we build back from what’s broken?”

says our Deputy Director Stella Opuku-Owusu on post-Covid recovery at the 13th Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) Summit

Our executive director Onyekachi Wambu was recently a guest on Loksan Harley’s series on Migration and Diaspora – sweet spots for us. In this long listen, hear Onyekachi connect the dots of his own journey. After talking about his childhood in post-independence Nigeria and his subsequent migration to the UK, Onyekachi deconstructs the “African diaspora”, providing his own conceptual framework to define who they are and to explain the different ways (or “transfers”) in which they contribute to the continent. Loksan and Onyekachi then talk about the role of AFFORD in engaging diasporas, including some of the work we’ve done to leverage diaspora interest in contributing their time, skills, money, and more. We close with Onyekachi’s insights into the key areas of under-exploited potential in African diaspora engagement, as well as his own lessons learned from many years working at the forefront of this exciting field. Enjoy and share!