Speakers

Malik Afegbua

Malik Afegbua is a Nigerian contemporary Artist, Virtual reality curator and Film Director (Cinema / Television). The Bachelor of Arts graduate from the University of Surrey, London is the Lead Visioner and Chief Executive Officer of Slickcity Media, a full-fledged innovative media production company with expertise across the entire media value chain including film/tv production, documentaries, VR, films, commercials, corporate videos, visual marketing, media technology, and publishing for notable companies and brands like American Express and Meta, Marvel studios, IBM, and Cadbury.

Malik is a Culture Architect who strongly believes in harnessing the enormous power of storytelling to shift mindsets and evoke emotions regardless of the medium of expression. Influenced by global culture and the endless possibilities that technological advancements offer, Malik brings masterpieces to life by combining different mediums to tell stories utilizing virtual reality, and blurring the lines of what reality as we know it now is.

Some of his notable exhibitions include the Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival, South Africa where he showcased his work with Meta and Meta’s showcase of Africa's new XR Creators. He also produced and directed the Netflix original documentary - Made By Design. In addition, Malik has been recognized in top magazines like Vogue where his iconic and vastly loved elderly digital fashion show made the headlines, as well as in Stirworld and Tuko among others.

Malik is deliberate about social impact and positively etching his footprints in gold. He gives back to the community through his company called C.E.L.S (Causes, Effects, Loopholes and Solutions). C.E.L.S hinges its activities on Sustainable Development Goal 4 by providing free non-traditional classroom education, enlightenment, and mentoring experiences for Nigeria’s teeming youth population.

Film director & versatile creative who is very passionate about telling stories, regardless of what medium those stories are being told in. I believe that the storyteller creates history, capturing who we are and sharing that story across generations. That is why I am keen on telling the African story from an African point of view. Because unless the Lion learns to tell its own story, every story told about a hunt will glorify the hunter. I believe that the ability to paint a picture and evoke certain emotions using visual storytelling is the ultimate service to humanity, otherwise living would have no meaning. My versatile skills range from the business of film to film directing, sound design, creating virtual and augmented reality environments for storytelling to the innovative use of AI for extended storytelling and solutions. Malik is the CEO of production company Slickcity Media that also runs a tech arm that services the extended reality industry. Malik was recently named by Meta as one of the next XR creators of Africa.

Malik is well known for his outside the box thinking approach by applying the use of artificial intelligence technology in the field of arts. Malik rose to limelight and prominence with his groundbreaking idea of showcasing fashion through the lens of artificial intelligence through the Elder Series in January 2023 and subsequently received invitations to exhibit his artwork in France, Brazil, and the United States of America. He has collaborated with Ruth E. Carter, the film costume designer who has won 2 Oscars for her designs in the Black Panther movies.

The World Health Organization recognized his unique artwork by quoting him as a major positive, contributor in the global effort by WHO/UN’s Decade of Healthy Aeging in combatting aegism.

Evelyn Collins

Dr. Evelyn Collins is a passionate and visionary leader in the fields of arts education, and a director and producer of theatrical productions. Dr. Collins has over 35 years of experience in developing and implementing arts-based curriculum programs in the public schools. She is the CEO of Onyx Production Company, a professional entertainment and publishing company that produces original and diverse works that reflect the African American experience and culture.

Dr. Collins is the founder and executive director of Harlem Ensemble Company, a not-for-profit theatre company that has produced plays, musicals, and films for over 21 years. She is also the founder of the Denzel Washington School of the Arts, grades 6-12, in Mount Vernon, NY. The Denzel Washington School of the Arts robotics team - ArtSonics, doubled in size and became majority female when coaches began emphasizing the arts during member recruitment.

She holds an Ed.D in Urban Education and School Leadership from Fordham University, an MA in Directing for the Theatre from the University of Michigan, an MS in Educational Leadership from the College of New Rochelle, and an MFA (candidate) in Theatre Arts Management/Producing from Columbia University, a BA in Education and Theatre from the University of Michigan, and multiple certifications in school leadership and administration.

Dr. Collins is also an author, public speaker, and arts consultant. She has published a historical case study - Out of the Shadows: The Duke Ellington School of the Arts, and received multiple awards for her contributions to multi-cultural theatre, in the Harlem, Ann Arbor and Mount Vernon communities.

She is also the author of the upcoming book 10 Things Your Mama Should Have Told You: Lessons on Cultivating an Extraordinary Life.

Gunjan Mansingh

Gunjan Mansingh is a Professor of Data Science at the Department of Computing, The University of the West Indies (U.W.I), Mona, Jamaica. She holds a PhD in Information Systems and she teaches various courses at the undergraduate and the graduate level in Computer Science, Information Systems and Data Science including Business Intelligence, Programming, Artificial Intelligence, Data Visualization and Knowledge Discovery and Analytics.

During Summer 2023 Prof. Mansingh administered JamCoders, an annual 4-week residential coding camp for 50 high school students with the lead sponsor being Chronixx, a popular Jamaican entertainer, and featuring faculty from Google, Harvard, and University of California at Berkeley.

Dr. Mansingh can readily share poetry that emanate from her research project examining implications of Artificial Intelligence in the artistic industries.

Dr. Mansingh is Chairman of eGov Jamaica Ltd, an information, communications, and technology company that provides full service to the Government of Jamaica. She is also Vice President of Innovation and Education of Jamaica Technology and Digital Alliance (JTDA) formerly Jamaica Computer Society (JCS).

Prof. Mansingh is a co-author of the book “Business Intelligence for SMEs: An Agile Roadmap for Sustainability.” She is a co-editor of an edited book titled “Knowledge Management for Development: Domains, Strategies and Technologies for Developing Countries”, Springer Integrated Series in Information Systems. She also serves on the international editorial review board of International Journal of Knowledge Management.

Dr. Mansingh’s research interests are in the following areas: Business Intelligence, Data Mining, Machine Learning, Decision Support Systems, Expert Systems. Knowledge Management and Knowledge Management Systems, and Technology Adoption. In her research she has worked in different domains in Jamaica such as healthcare, agriculture, e-commerce, financial services, and the arts. Her research focus has been on harnessing data, information and knowledge in the various sources to assist in the decision-making process. She has over 50 publications in international journals, proceedings of several international conferences and as book chapters.