The 15th edition of the yearly Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange is set to hold in two tranches: July 13 to 16 in Nigeria; and July 19 to July 27 in London.
The WSICE is organised on the platform of the OpenDoorSeries ProjectWS, an international cultural exchange programme designed for the purpose of using the platforms of Arts and Culture to affirm and uphold the dignity of man. Kareem added, “to celebrate the 90th birthday anniversary of Wole Soyinka as is WSICE tradition since inception, the focus remains the advancement of interest of the children and youth of Nigeria and the world.”
For this edition, there be a youth programme. The programme focuses on central motif of the project: mentoring and grooming the new generation of thinkers and eventual leaders who would work for the overall national interest of lifting their country and their society to greater heights of human and material development.
Winners of the essay writing competitions will be unveiled on July 13, the actual birthday of the patron saint of the project. The entries in English language will be 800 words minimum in text volume. There are several other organisations in the performing arts sector of the creative industries that have indicated interests to be part of the celebration.
Dotting on the theme Redefining African Identity through Integrity , the exhibition, The African I-D-E-N-T-I-T-Y initiative, is conceived from the themes of the 2013 and 2014 editions of VoTC: “Good Governance and Democracy in Nigeria” and “One Thousand and One Faces of Corruption” – which were themes conceived by Soyinka himself while serving as project supervision and grand patron for the VoTC and the Lagos Black Heritage Festival, LBHF, the yearly project promoted by the Lagos State...
Featuring top bills in Nigerian film industry, including Wale Ojo, Sam Dede, Nobert Young, Francis Onwochei, Christiana Osunniyi, and Hollywood actor, Abraham Amkpa, and others, the film is directed by Awam Amkpa, Soyinka’s former student and professor of Theatre, Media and Cultural Aesthetics at the New York University, Abu-Dhabi, where he is currently Dean of Humanities and Deputy Provost.