Meet the Judges' Panel for Alumni Awards 2024-25

Laura Etemah is a composer, author, and ethnomusicologist transforming African cultural narratives globally. With expertise in music production and platformisation, she mentors emerging artists and amplifies African voices. Holding an MA in Music Production from Leeds Beckett University, her ERC-funded research explores how digital platforms shape African music. As Coach Ellie on TikTok, she democratizes music education, blending tradition with innovation to foster cultural sustainability.

Artist, dancer, choreographer, writer, and director who works primarily across theatre and performance and is increasingly concerned with interactivity, video, sculpture and texture. She has been an artist in residence at the Google Cultural Institute in Paris as part of a residency organized by 89Plus, co-curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Simon Castets with Julie Boukobza; at the Villa Empain in Brussels; and at the University of Florida.

Fidelis Duker is an award-winning filmmaker. He has an MBA in International Business from the Crawford University. 

Fidelis has produced and Directed several award winning motion picture contents. He is presently the regional secretary general of FEPACI for West Africa and the MD/CEO of FAD MEDIA GROUP owners of FAD FM 93.1 Calabar, Abuja International Film Festival, FAD Productions Ltd and FAD Publishing Ltd.

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Gift Chidera Peters, a graduate of the University of Portsmouth received the Culture and Creativity Award. She is the founder of the online platform CP Community — the outfit supports international students in the UK with the right information, resources leveraging a network of vibrant student communities to help them navigate life in the UK better, settle and ace their studies.

Currently, her platform boasts of over 11,000 student members from over seven countries in Africa including Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa.

Hauwa Liman  is an inspector with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), a creative entrepreneur and also the founder of the IMPACT NIGERIA PROJECT. A platform that inspires, empowers and mentors youths to realize their full potentials and also impact communities through networking, collaboration and active youth volunteerism. Her vision is to see youth unemployment tackled through intensive early entrepreneurship education and vocational training.

Henry Bassey is currently Chief Marketing Officer, Sterling Bank PLC. He is a seasoned marketing strategist and brand builder with strong leadership skills and over 20 years marketing communications experience in the competitive Nigerian, South African and UK markets.

His previous work experience span global consulting firms, Gallup Poll and Nielsen, as well Digibrands and Insight Communications (A Publicis groupe company) where he delivered market share growth for world-class organisations.

The British Council has had quite a huge impact on me. Sometime in 2003, the British Council sponsored me on a trip to Manchester to attend a seminar on Violence Against Women. It was on this trip that I paid a visit to St Mary’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre, a place where survivors could receive professional and timely support to overcome the trauma of rape and sexual assault. I was impressed and immediately made up my mind to open the centre. 

Ladi Folorunsho is a finance and data science professional with extensive expertise in financial management, data analytics, audit, and tax consulting. He is a Fellow of the Institute of

Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA) and holds an MBA in Finance. While studying for his B.Sc., Ladi was appointed Project Accountant at the Health Reform Foundation of Nigeria, managing multilateral donor funds for three years. He later founded Raywhite Folorunsho & Co, a network frm in SGA World UK,

Lanre Phillips is a Sales/Marketing professional whose experience has spanned over 20 years in the FMCG, Banking and Telecommunications industry. He has thrived in intellectually stimulating and dynamic work environments that have ensured growth and development. He has an unusual passion for the growth of small businesses through the development of human capacity and implementation of sound business strategies which translate into operational excellence.