Speakers
Leading experts in various industries, such as music, telecommunications, fashion, technology and environment, among others, will be keynote speakers at the festival. Group discussions and Q&A sessions will be held around the most current and relevant issues targeted by speakers. Panels of three experts, comprised of influential industry players, will be invited to join the keynote speaker in discussing popular subjects, answering the questions from the audience or solving any arguments that may arise during issue discussions.
Ishmael Beah
Ishmael Beah is a human rights activist and author of a New York Times bestseller, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier.
Beah was born in Sierra Leone in 1980. At the age of 12, he was forced to become a child soldier, fighting for almost three years before being rescued by UNICEF. In 1998, he fled Freetown due to the increasing violence and found his way to New York City, where he lived with Laura Simms, his foster mother. Beah finished his last two years of high school at the United Nations International School in New York. In 2004 he graduated from Oberlin College with a bachelor's in political science.
Beah is a member of the Human Rights Watch Children’s Rights Division Advisory Committee and has spoken before the United Nations, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Center for Emerging Threats and Opportunities at the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, and many other NGO panels on children affected by the war.
Jeffrey Kimathi
Kenyan born Jeffrey Kimathi is the founder of Jamhuri Wear, a fashion statement that has made many American mainstream entertainers take notice.
Started as a graphic T-shirt line in 2003 in New York City, Jamhuri Wear has since grown to include custom outerwear pieces such as hooded sweatshirts and crewnecks. Its diverse designs appeal to a trans-cultural, forward-thinking market of consumers. Acclaimed R&B singer, Akon, has worn the brand numerous times in his music videos. Other supporters include Tom Morello of Audio Slave, reggae singer Damian Marley and producer Prince Paul. Hip-hop mogul Jay-Z has also been seen wearing the label during multiple performances.
Jamhuri Wear has been featured in such publications as Vibe, XXL, Complex magazine, Blow and Stuff magazine. With recognition and momentum, the company has crystallized into its image as the founder and leader of conscious and modern, yet rooted African fashion.
Jeff Koinange
Jeff Koinange is a Kenyan journalist and chief reporter at TV Station K24, previously serving as the Africa correspondent for CNN and CNN International from 2001 to 2007.
Koinange was born in Kenya and worked with the first independent local TV channel, KTN. He received an associate’s degree from Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, NY, and later a bachelor’s in broadcast journalism from New York University. Before joining CNN, Koinange worked for Reuters Television, covering Africa and serving as their chief producer. He also worked with NBC News and ABC News earlier in his career.
Among the significant stories Koinange had covered for CNN in Africa were the crisis in Darfur, the civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone, and the famine in Niger, for which the journalist won an Emmy award. Koinange had also covered news outside of Africa, including extensive reporting on the aftermath of the Hurricane Katrina, as well as the Iraq War.