This year's edition of Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange (WSICE) project is scheduled to hold from Sunday, July 12 - Tuesday, 14, at Ijegba Forest, the residence of Soyinka, and at the Ogun State Cultural Centre, Kuto, respectively, with the theme, “Justice and Freedom: Essential Conditions for Humanity.”more...
The annual programme was initiated in 2010 and debuted on the 76th birthday anniversary of the Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, as the “quintessential artist and symbol of our humanity.” It is beign organised by
Lagos-based ZMirage Multimedia Company and US-based Global NewHaven.
WSICE is the core project of The Open Door Series promoted by Alhaji Teju-Kareem-led Zmirage and Professor Segun Ojewuyi-led GlobalNewHaven. Last year witnessed the grand fifth edition, which marked the 80th birthday anniversary of Prof. Soyinka.
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, who stressed, “Our theme, 'Storytelling and youth development', 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, as well as school activities, could help to inculcate moral values in our young ones,” he said.
Kareem explained further, “To realise the objective of the core International Cultural Exchange dimension of the project, we have identified 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.
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.”
Much of the activities this year 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, have a feel of the grand model that Soyinka is by paying visit to his residential enclave,” he said.
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