The Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange (WSICE) is set to hold its annual programme which usually coincides with the celebration of the birthday anniversary of Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka.
Every year for three days, the events of the WSICE are held across Nigeria and other parts of the world with a live essay competition that draws participation from students of secondary schools and tertiary institutions; a cultural advocacy session; lectures, and symposium on humanity as well as poetry and theatrical performances.
The WSICE, in a statement on Saturday signed by its producer, Haneefat Ikharo, said that due to the coronavirus pandemic, the programme would not hold in a physical setting but would operate in the digital space.
The events will run for three days, July 12-14, with the theme ‘I AM because YOU ARE’, which is drawn from UBUNTU, the Southern African philosophy which epitomises the principle of shared values that ensures the sustenance and survival of the human family.
Executive Producer of the project and CEO of Zmirage Multimedia Company, organisers of the event, Teju Kareem, said: “The theme is inspired by observed factors and motives behind the responses of peoples and governments across the world to the challenges pushed forward by the rage of the pandemic. In particular, the obvious interdependence of our collective humanity has been brought to the fore in the way people and states have risen to support others experiencing the dire effects of the pandemic.”
The main programme item, the Advocacy, will run for two days, and will focus on the topic: Pandemic: Pursuit of individual Happiness and our common Humanity.
The first day (July 12) will feature the main conference paper by Prof Lilly Cheng of Chinese Cultural institute, San Diego University, US, who would speak on the lead theme: I AM because YOU ARE, espousing on the interdependence of our collective humanity as evinced in the incidences and situations around the covid-19 pandemics.
She would be supported by Dr Li Michael, an educator specialising in the teaching of the Chinese national treasure, the Abacus; President of Beijing Shenmo Education Group, which he founded in 1998, with its headquarter in Beijing, China.
Other speakers at the first session, who would be responding to Prof. Cheng’s presentation, include Shabaka Thompson (Trinidad and Tobago), a cultural leader; Keyna Eilson (Brazil), a curator, writer and researcher; Lucile Huguet (France) a journalist.
The second day (July 13) will have a lead paper on ‘Reimagining Our World After Covid-19’ to be delivered Prof. Segun Ojewuyi, a theatre and culture scholar.
This will be followed by five contributing papers to be presented by eminent culture researchers and scholars from five countries: Rev Fr Joseph Brown (USA), a Roman Catholic priest and professor in the Department of Africana Studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale; Cristian Aquino-Sterling (Spain), a teacher and educational researcher; Dr. Ngozi Nwaneri (Nigeria) reputed as a global and social justice theorist with professional expertise in public policy; Dave Guzha (Zimbabwe), a writer, theatre director and filmmaker; Nathan Kiwere (Uganda), a journalist, filmmaker, author and publisher.
According to the statement, the second and integral part of the year’s cultural exchange is the essay competition which targets the youth, and is open in two categories:
“Junior — Ages 12-17 — Secondary/High School students (350-400 words)
“Senior — Ages 17-22 — College, University and Tertiary level students (800-1000 words).
“The submission of essays will start on the 5th of June and close on the 26th of June.
“The competition is open to participants in five linguistic zones – English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese. A winner and a runner-up will emerge from each of the zones. Also, a global winner will emerge in the two categories.
“The winners from each category and linguistic zones will be announced on the 14th of July during a scheduled meet and greet session with Prof. Soyinka in the same virtual/digital space.”
