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| Prof Soyinka |
All is set for the 2015 edition of the yearly Wole
Soyinka International Cultural Exchange (WSICE) project which is
scheduled to hold from July 12 through
the 14th.
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| Antie Noma on set |
According
to
the Producer, WSICE 2015, Haneefat Ikharo,
unlike
previous editions in which activities held in Lagos, Ogun and Osun State,
events for this year’s edition will hold exclusively in Abeokuta, Ogun State,
where the Nobel laureate resides. Remarkably too, the organisers plan to
concentrate the activities in the neighbourhood of the Ijegba Forest Residence
of Soyinka, and at the Ogun State Cultural Centre, Kuto.
In his words: “The theme for the year is: Justice And Freedom: Essential Conditions For Humanity, and according to the organisers, “these are the two fundamental concerns of the Nobel laureate in his career of promoting better humanity not only in his literary writings but also in his intervention in local and global socio-cultural and political discourses.”
“WSICE is the core project of the The Open Door
Series promoted by Alhaji Teju-Kareem-led Zmirage and Professor Segun Ojewuyi-led
GlobalNewHaven, and it has been staged every year since 2010 when Soyinka was
76. Last year witnessed the grand fifth edition, which marked the 80th
birthday anniversary of Prof. Soyinka.
“While the 2014 fifth anniversary edition was a
grand parade of drama, poetry, music, painting exhibition and variety youth
programmes in honour of Soyinka’s 80th birthday, this sixth edition
marking his 81st, has redesigned in terms of performance features. The,
2015 project will focus on Storytelling – “as a resourceful art form that is an
integral part of the socialisation process of an average African personality”,
stated the Executive Producer, Teju Kareem. “Our theme is Storytelling and Youth
Development, and this is designed to address our observations that in
an era when the society continues to drastically lose its moral values, due to
vagary of factors including improper and inadequate child upbringing and chaotic
educational system, we believe that a full exploration and exploitation of the
power of Storytelling in parental upbringing and as well as school activities
could help to inculcate moral values in our young ones.”
He continues: “We also reckon that Wole Soyinka is
essentially a Storyteller as will be seen in his poetry, drama, songs and even
public commentary through which he has grossly affected our lives and those of
other peoples around the world in past six decades and more.”
Stated Kareem, “to realise the objective of the core
International Cultural Exchange dimension of the project, we have identifi
Antie Noma on set 1ed two international reputable experts who engage storytelling to teach and mentor young ones, and have made tremendous impacts on the socialisation process in their respective stations. From the Diaspora is the Caribbean leading storytelling performer, Theodora Ulerie aka Anty Thea (Trinidad and Tobago) and from Nigeria, Mrs. Noma Sodipo, founder and anchor of the popular children TV programme, Story Time with Auntie Noma (Nigeria). These two tested and core professionals will help us realise the objectives; they will run workshops and mentorship sessions with junior secondary schools drawn from Ogun State, and 81 senior secondary school students from across the country.The 81 from across the country represent the finalists in the annual essay competition, which will focus on the theme of the celebration “Justice & Freedom: Essential Conditions for Humanity”.
A core aspect of the yearly project is the Student
mentorship programme during which the First Lady of Ogun State, Her Excellency,
Mrs. Olufunsho Amosun yearly counsels the gathering of hundreds of students
drawn from Ogun State and rest of the country on the importance of education and
imbibing moral lessons of patriotism and discipline. In the past three editions
she has mentored over 10000 students in Nigeria and also in London, where she
was a Guest of Honour in 2013. Two editions ago the First lady of Osun, Her
Excellency, Alhaja Sherifat Aregbesola and the Deputy Governor, of the State, Otunba
Grace Titi-Laoye also mentored over 1000 students drawn from Osun, and the 79
finalists in the year’s essay competition.
Stressing on the objective of the ICE, Kareem
stated: “We in
ZMirage and GlobalNewHaven -- believing firmly in the educative as well as
entertaining functions of theatre and literary arts -- have resolved to
consistently commit time, energy and huge financial resources to this project
so that the Arts, especially Theatre, can once again take pride of place in
Nigeria and the world. The primary focus for us is the cultural exchange value
of the project, which enables us reach out to the world, giving and receiving
artistic contents that can change and enrich lives.
The Executive Producer revealed that much of the
activities will be held in the 850-seater site-specific Amphitheatre installed
last year to host the presentation of Soyinka’s epic, Dance of the Forests as directed by Tunde Awosanmi, head of
department of Theatre Arts, University of Ibadan. The idea of staging much of the events in the
forest theatre, noted Kareem, is to stress the educational and touristic virtues
of the project. “We want the children to start identifying with the importance
of such touristic facilities, and as well to have a feel of the grand model
that Soyinka is by paying visit to his residential enclave”.
This year’s WSICE will be produced by
MsHaneefatIkharo, Theatre Arts graduate of the University of Benin. She took
over from the pioneer producer, Lillian Amah, a writer, actress and producer.
Thebreakdown of the year’s programme are as
follows:
Event line-up / schedule
10th
– 12thJuly, 2015 (Friday to Sunday)
1.
Aunty
Thea
Story telling Workshop
A 3-day workshop for Junior Secondary Schools
12thJuly, 2015.
(Sunday)
1.
Arrival of 81 students and key
officials
2.
Accreditation of students
3.
Arrival of Judges
13thJuly, 2015(Monday)
1.
Live essay writing at the Cultural
Centre (8am – 10am)
2.
Story telling Workshop for the 81
Finalists with Auntie Thea and Auntie Noma
3.
81 Students Party at the Lodge
(Evening/Night)
14thJuly,
2015(Tuesday)
1.
Visit to the Governor of Ogun State
2.
Announcement of Winner and
Presentation of trophy
3.
Youth Mentorship (81 Finalists) with Prof. Wole Soyinka at Ijegba
4.
Do Your Own Thing (includes students
talent show, spelling bee, poetry etc. and the Mentoring session by the First
Lady, Her Excellency, Mrs.
OlufunshoAmosun) at Ijegba / Cultural centre
5.
International Cultural Exchange:Storytelling
& Youth Development –Conversation between Home & the Diaspora -- Theodora
Ulerie (Aunty Thea) and NomaSodipo
(Aunty Noma) –at the Amphitheatre, Ijegba Forest; chaired by ; Jimi Solanke
6.
Performances by Ogun State Cultural Troupe & Poetry (by Guest Artistes) at the Ijegba Forest Theatre.
7.
Drama: Wole Soyinka’s KONGI’s
HARVEST by Crown Troupe of Africa @ the Ijegba Forest Theatre
15thJuly,
2015(Wednesday)
Departure
of 81 students, guests and officials.
Profiles of guest artistes
for WSICE 2015
Anty Thea
Theodora
Ulerie aka Auntie Thea is an advocate for the empowerment of children and young
adults. She is a Cultural Practitioner and an Arts Education
Specialist/Facilitator. She is the founder of Culture House, an arts education resource
centre, where she facilitates community workshops for women and children – a
job she was destined to have.
As a teenager, Ulerie
attended Tunapuna Government Secondary. She topped St Mary’s Secretarial
College before finding work at Barclays Bank and the telephone company. After
that, she formed her own job placement service. Ulerie even fell in love, got
married at 19, and gave birth to two of her four children”.
Her love for theatre began while in
primary school in Tunapuna where she was selected to play the fairy responsible
for waking up all the flowers in a Freddy Kissoon operetta. She says she
immediately fell in love with the stage. "To me, I was the star. When it
was time to leave the stage Thea wouldn't move. All the signs they were making
and I not moving at all. That helped to boost my self esteem," says
Ulerie, who lost her mother at age seven and used occasions to perform as a
means to escape this loss.
Putting Theodora’s
acting plans on hold, her parents whisked her off to St Rose’s Intermediate
School.
Auntie Thea’s ability
to stir the memory, imagination and inspire creativity in little children began
during her childhood in Tunapuna.
“My parents (Emelda
and Cecille Gittens) were appalled when they asked me what I wanted to be and I
said an actress. I’ve been a storyteller all my life. I’ve always loved
performing. I was a child who always loved being on stage. I always loved
poetry and reading,” she added.
Although
she participated in drama festivals all through secondary school, Ulerie
entered secretarial college after graduation because there were no avenues to
study the arts at home. "At ten years old if you asked me what I wanted to
be I would tell you I wanted to be an actress. At 16 years old, if you asked me
what I wanted to be I would tell you I wanted to be an actress. However, if you
want to be an actress you have to be a mad person especially in those days. So
I didn't become an actress; I became a secretary and I didn't like what I was
doing at all. My point is that we have angels among us who have wonderful
talent and because of our lack of respect for the arts we do not nurture the
talent of these children and they fall through the cracks – artistically and
creatively – and we do not reali
se our potential," she says.
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| Anty Thea |
Ulerie
spent years working as a corporate secretary eventually opening a temp agency
in the early 80s but continued to be unsatisfied by these positions.
“Then the recession
struck in 1983. I lost a lot of business. I became non-existent. I knew I had
to do something”.
In
1984, after being forced out of business by the recession, Ulerie dreamed of
opening a motivational centre. She rented a house and drafted a proposal for
which was unable to find government or corporate funding.
Her
intuition, Ulerie says, was telling her to return to her childhood for
contentment.
In
1985, she met the playwright Shango Baku and proposed to manage his theatre
group and projects. Unbeknownst to Ulerie, Baku had written her a part in
one of his plays and the role changed her life forever. "Before I knew it,
I was immersed in the theatre. He had the greatest impact in my life and taught
me everything I knew about the theatre and helped me to give meaning and
direction to my dreams."
Ulerie
became the National Schools and British Tour coordinator for Baku's play One Bad Tassa while remaining a member
of the cast and even organising a three-day seminar for more than 100 teachers
on arts in education. While Baku and others remained abroad after the tour and
formed Culture Exchange in Theatre Education, Ulerie returned home to continue
the project and founded Culture House in 1988.
“I formalised the
Baku method of Learning Through The Arts (Ltd). It was a methodology that
utilised the arts/culture for active learning. Then the Pan American Health
Organisation commissioned the Who’s In Charge? project and I got involved. The
focus was on young adults. The focus was youth and sexuality,” she said.
Then, a dark cloud
settled over her bright horizon. An encounter with domestic violence resulted
in a broken arm and emotional pain and hurt. Struggling to regain her dignity,
poetry proved to be the perfect therapy.
“I began focusing on
my own writings. I wrote on women and the violence in the family. I addressed
women’s groups. I felt it was important to share the strategies and how they
can overcome it too, with the sorority of sisters. I think we must go beyond
survival,” said Ulerie.
Still, she credits
poetry for its cathartic properties. It was out of this healing fountain that
the beloved character “Aunty Theo” arose. She is not the typical old
grandmother telling stories of soucouyant and La Diablesse, but a vibrant woman
who blends in the local environment in her stories.
Ulerie can be heard
dipping into her story box on 102 FM and I95.5 radio frequencies. She can also
be seen at interactive workshop sessions at venues like the Lidj Yasu Omawale
Village, Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain.
She’s even developed
a Personal Positive Value System, which “encourages the children to develop
self-esteem and character. “I tell them do a little something that’s nice.
Day-by-day in a special way, you would get better and better.”
A proud grandmother
of three, Ulerie leaves the children with golden words of wisdom. I share my
motto: “Do your best and leave the rest to God”.
Ulerie
was awarded the Commonwealth Women Agents Award in 2011 and was one of 24
awardees to represent Trinidad & Tobago at CHOGM 2011 in Australia.
On her work: "I love what I'm doing. I
love working with the children. My work gives me a lot of joy. Thank God for my
work and for the gift. My name means "god's gift" so I guess
realising that inner gift is something that I have made my lifelong quest. I
was searching and I never knew what I was searching for. As a little girl I
would search for gold but what I found out as an adult is that the gold was in
my heart."
On Working with Children: “When I came back to Trinidad
that is when I started to do experimental work with children; that is when
‘Auntie Thea’ was born. I worked with young adults. I created Sojourner Culture
and the work continued on a massive scale servicing a wide area of societal
needs. Through Culture House we were able to bring people together – people
with special needs, women, children, families, all different types – and the
work went into a new realm. The work became a national service. The aim is to
promote tolerance and understanding as the cornerstone of nation building and
peace… Education must be a stimulant. It must not be something administered
through blackboard and chalk, it must stimulate children's minds to something
that is positive and that can bring about peace. We need a considered approach
to education for the new generation of international youth. We must prepare our
children for world citizenship. Our view must be a worldview. Broadening
horizons and expanding awareness is important."
Adapted from interviews published separately on
legacy.guardian.co.tt; and www.trinidadexpress.com
Originally
trained as an optometrist, Mrs. NomaSodipo
(Auntie
Noma) has worked with kids for over two decades. She has run
storytelling events at various programmes with the British Council, Ikoyi Club
1938, the Committee for Relevant Arts (CORA), Lagos Book &Arts Festival
(LABAF),at venues in the UK as well as showing her experiences in film
festivals, conferences, national newspapers, and various other media in topics
ranging from Children's television in Nigeria to caring for Preschool child's
eyes. She represents Nigeria in Connected-Women.com,
through a blog post set up to highlight contributions of 30 women from 30
different countries across the world.
She
extends her position for work with children to a wide variety of services
within her organization, The Lighthouse Educational Services, which comprises a
fully equipped studio for children's TV programming, nursery education, musical
productions, children's publication, educational DVDs, documentaries, travel,
vision and educational research for children. She attended a course at The
London Film Academy in 2004 and has been interned with the BBC, whilst sharing
experiences with the producers, directors and executive producers of the
children's programmes Tikkabilla, CBeebies and Blue Peter. She holds a
post-graduate diploma in education.
Though she
hails from Edo Statein the then mid-Western
Nigeria, Noma Sodipo was born in Ibadan in the Southwest, and is
married to Professor Bankole Sodipo from
Abeokuta in Ogun State (also Southwest); they are blessed with three children.Her hobbies include playing the piano, running and
swimming. She is married to Bankole and they have three very innovative
children.
In May
2012, Auntie Noma was given the Global Women's Inventors and Innovators Network
(GWIIN) award in Ghana for her children's TV programme Story Time With Auntie Noma. She has been a fellow of the Royal
Society for the Promotion of Health for over 16 years and was a member of The
Association for Research in vision and ophthalmology and the British Contact
Lens Association fellow over 18 years.
On story time with Auntie Noma: Story
Time with Auntie Noma is one of
Africa's leading wholly indigenously-produced children's edutainment programmes,
providing educational and entertaining content, targeted at kids but enjoyed by
the family as a whole. The weekly half-hour programme, which encourages
co-viewing, is an exciting combination of features, storytelling, songs, arts
and crafts, did you know slots and periodic competitions. Every part has a
story to tell. The television programme very innovatively fills the gap created
by the lack of quality African programmes for children, especially
preschoolers.
StoryTime with Auntie Noma went on air in 2005 and has been broadcast in
over 30 countries in Africa and Europe through DSTV- MNet's cable channel
(Africa Magic), Magic Channel (daily), BEN TV Europe, Channels TV Nigeria,
Africa Independent Television (AIT), Gateway Television (Ogun State), Desmims
Independent Television (DITV), Kaduna State, EBS, Edo state, and TVC. Not only
is Story Time with Auntie Noma
educational and entertaining, it is unique in that its very vast content is
recorded on location and in the studio. Most of the music featured is composed
or re-arranged and recorded by Auntie Noma.
A theme,
randomly chosen for each week, through four characters -- Talent Tom,
Nose-it-all-Nelly, Busy Ben and Nature's Nancy helps the kids explore topics
ranging from Talking Drums and Dragon Fruits to Doughnuts and Animals on Safari
in Kenya.
The many
opportunities to learn about Africans’ varied cultures, portraying their
positive aspects in very attractive ways, as well as learn about ways of life
outside Africa, means that this programme is stimulating to both Africans and
non-Africans alike.
What’s unique about
the Programme: Story-Time with Auntie Noma, aside being a
fun-filled family programme, reinforces
the fact that children learn in a variety of ways. Taking learning outside the
four walls of a classroom, it creates a vibrant and refreshing approach to life
from a child’s perspective. Rather than being a dull straightforward
educational programme, it is entertaining, exciting whist being very
educational.
The many
opportunities to learn about our varied cultures, portraying the positive
aspects in very attractive ways, as well as learn about ways of life outside
Nigeria has made Story-Time with Auntie Noma stimulating to both
Nigerians and non-Nigerians alike.
The weekly half-hour
programme is shot on location and in the studio. In addition to the location
segment, Story-Time with Auntie Noma also features storytelling; rhymes
and songs; arts and crafts. A theme is chosen for each week, and the above
three features are woven around the theme ranging from Waterfalls to Twins in
Africa, Dragon Fruit to Slave trade; Counting; Colours and Computers to Taking
Turns, Talents and Transportation. Our locations include; animals on safari in
Kenya and Yankari Games Reserve, Nigeria; Kayaking on the Indian Ocean; Cricket
at the Oval, London; the Delft Pottery works of Holland; Sightseeing in France,
South Africa, Zambia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Dubai and even Norway. The crew have
also captured locals at work – basket weaving, making garri, etc. Story-Time
with Auntie Noma is aired on Channels TV, Africa Magic, Gateway TV, Desmims
TV (Kaduna), EBS (Edo), TVC and BEN TV (Europe).
Feedback from the
programme:“We get lots of
feedback from Nigeria and abroad. For instance, a Nigerian woman whose
grand-children live in France was delighted to hear them greet her e kaaro! Although
their father is French, they picked up the words from the Good Morning
song video during the programme, which they were able to view through Sky
network in France. For people in the diaspora, that cultural touch is what
really glues them to the programme. I also got an e-mail the other day from a
mother who just watched the programme with her kids in the UK. For many abroad
it brings back nostalgic feelings too. Many of the kids here in Nigeria call in
to be part of the programme; so it looks like we really should get some sort of
a club going! At the moment many are calling in to be part of Story time with
Auntie Noma’s 5th Anniversary trip to The Gambia this summer.
On her
growing up: “I was happy as a child;
quite naughty too, as my immediate older sister well remembers when I would
fling all her clothes which she had just neatly piled up in her wardrobe unto
the floor. That was the quickest way of getting to her whenever we quarreled!
My grandma also had a name for me… and I had a cane for her!!!”
On her love
for children:“Yes, I love children. They are fun to be with.
Maybe I am a child at heart really, and so tend to relate quite well with them.
They tend to take me like one of them too.
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