Online Summer School 2021

Dominik Kopiński is Associate Professor in the Institute of Economics at the University of Wroclaw. A cofounder of the Polish Centre for African Studies, he has published extensively on sub-Saharan Africa, development aid, China–Africa relations, natural resource policies and global public goods.

He was a Fulbright Fellow at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University and his work has appeared in African Affairs, Journal of Contemporary African Studies, Africa Spectrum, Global Governance, Third World Quarterly. He has conducted field research in Angola, Botswana, Ghana, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia. His recent work includes the book titled Global Public Goods and International Organisations: The Case of World Bank and IMF (Difin, 2020).

My talk will be about China's expansion in Africa, its controversies, facts and myths, why Africa benefits from it and why many Africans think otherwise.

Mrs. Yetty Williams holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and Mathematics from the University of Pittsburgh and an MBA strategy and finance from the Yale School of Management, USA. She has an executive degree in Digital Media Marketing from the University of Cambridge. 

She is a social entrepreneur and has over 20 years working experience which spans financial services, real estate consulting. She started her career in Bloomberg Financial Markets and has also worked at Wachovia Bank (now Wells Fargo), Shell, Persianas, Lafarge, and Union Bank. 

Yetty is the founder of LagosMums, the first Nigerian blog dedicated to Mums, parents, and caregivers. She believes that parenting should be a mindful and collaborative process. LagosMums mission is to be a family life and parenting resource for mums, parents, and caregivers, it takes an e-village to raise a child in the 21st Century. She is the convener of the LagosMums Parenting Conference which is an annual gathering of parents and experts. Over the years the conference has attracted thousands of parents and experts discussing pertinent topics relating to parenting and family matters. 

LagosMums has grown organically online and is active on social media across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with over 100,000 followers. 

Yetty is a certified Life Coach and Neuro-linguistic Programming Practitioner. As a speaker, she has been invited to speak several times on Parenting, work-life balance, digital media, and entrepreneurship at various companies, schools, company retreats and many more platforms locally and globally. She is a guest on the Parenting Today show on LagosTalks 91.3 FM on Thursdays at 12.30 pm where she delves into various parenting topics. In 2020, Yetty was the keynote speaker during the Women's Entrepreneurship Day celebration hosted by Google.

Yetty is the lead consultant at Slay with Digital, where she consults on Digital transformation and Strategic Digital media marketing planning for Business owners and Companies. Some of her clients include P&G, Kimberly Clark, Nivea, AXA Mansard, Google, several SME's and Schools. 

She serves on the boards of the Bethesda Child Support Agency and Afro-Tech Girls. 

Yetty has won many awards over the years some of which include, being announced as the winner in the Social Media/Online media category in the ELOY (Exquisite Lady Of the Year) 2015 Awards and was a nominee in the Digital Media Entrepreneur category in 2019. Yetty was recognized as a conversation starter in the YNaija 100 media list. 

LagosMums was selected as an Organization to implement Google Online Safety Roadshow workshops in the community and schools in 2019. This was successfully done reaching over 1,000 participants. In 2020, Yetty was selected as a partner for the POWER Initiative; (Providing Opportunities for Women's economic rise),  in partnership with the US Department of State’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, U.S.Consulate Lagos and supported by Google. 

In 2021, LagosMums was selected as one of the winners in the Africa Online Safety Fund, set up by Google.org. It is certainly an honour to have been selected as one of the 26 organizations across 9 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The grant will go towards promoting online safety and digital well-being for parents, teachers and children.

Yetty Williams is married to Afolabi Williams, a very supportive “LagosDad” and they are blessed with two children who have inspired her to start a compilation of #funnythingschildrensay. 
 

During my gap year, I was left like many others, at a bit of a loose end. With no job, no international travel alone, no social life and a LOT of time with my parents, I decided I needed a new project! I started my YouTube channel in May 2020 and have now amassed over 4,000 subscribers who I share my academic journey with.

From both the highs and lows of university life in a pandemic to tales of my gap year, I share all sorts of advice and information for students as they continue onto higher education. Starting a channel in a very saturated market during a pandemic has been challenging at times and there's definitely things I wish I knew earlier but it's certainly been a lesson in how to connect with people when you're on the other side of a screen and often the world! Besides my channel and my university work, I work at Felsted during the holidays supporting the international borders and I have become a vaccinator as part of the UK's Mass Vaccination Programme.
 

Kathryn Taylor CMF HFTGN CAHRI MACE BEd Grad. Cert. Career Dev. Prac.
Director of Wellbeing Australia, expert in Education and Wellbeing for ACPi, Director of Turning Point Consulting, a Centre of Excellence: Leadership, Change & Wellbeing

 
Guided by solution-focussed wellbeing practices, Kathryn is energised by change & creating optimism in uncertainty. Dedicated to improving the wellbeing of others, her work with individuals, organisations & educational institutions identify potential through increased motivation & wellbeing. With over 20 years of professional experience across corporate, educational and NFP sectors, she delivers coaching & development through proactive & meaningful interactions. Educating others in leadership, wellbeing & careers, her value is clear through local and global response to her work. Kathryn is currently Director with Wellbeing Australia, expert in Education and Wellbeing for ACPi and Director of Turning Point Consulting, a Centre of Excellence: Leadership, Change & Wellbeing. With a devotion to educating others, she has worked in human resources, leadership and coaching, across Government, faith-based and corporate with leadership, staff, youth and community to embed positive professional development she emphasises resilience, empowerment, motivation and engagement. Receiving recognition for her work in educational leadership with a focus on transition for staff and students, she was awarded Honorary Fellowship from the Teachers Guild of NSW and a Career Management Fellowship from ICCI for her work with leaders globally.
 

Revd. Kabelo Motlhakane is an Anglican Priest, Public Theologian and a Transformation and Inclusion Consultant. He is currently serving as the School Chaplain and Head of Transformation and Inclusion at St Peters College, South Africa. He is also reading for his Master’s Degree, at the University of Pretoria, in Ethics and Systematic Theology. His thesis is titled “The story of God and Black Inferiority – A Black Consciousness Perspective”.

Revd Kabelo is passionate about youth development and changing the idea of a God that is limited to race, gender, sexuality, and any other human construct that serves to exclude and dehumanize. He has worked with young people for over 20 years with the first few years focusing on young people in the township of Soweto where he grew up and received his basic education.

His role as a School Chaplain and Head of Transformation involves facilitating conversations across the St Peters College community, including its students, staff, and parents. He also teaches a developing subject called “Social Analytics” which focuses on socio-economic, religious, and political challenges both at a local and global level. As the School Chaplain, he is responsible for the spiritual life and worship of the school community. Outside his responsibilities at St Peters College, he consults and assists other schools develop policies and implement transformation strategies.

Meha Lodha is an experienced banking professional based in Zurich and has led transformation initiatives for large companies and banks in many countries. In her current role she is preparing her organization to address challenges emerging from climate change. Meha has a background in international relations and speaks four languages.

Is climate change only about physical damage caused by heatwaves, storms and rising sea levels – or is there more? In a world where common beliefs are constantly challenged, how can we stay current on the topic? To know more, join the talk with Meha Lodha.