A FEEEDS BlogSpot
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| Guardian Newspaper Photo, December 6, 2014 of Ambassador's Uli Book Launch in Lagos, Nigeria |
Ambassador (Dr.) Robin Renee Sanders book "The
Legendary Uli Women of Nigeria," was launched December 6, 2014 in the
country that inspired its writing -- Nigeria, with support by Nigerian captains
of industry and the media, non-governmental leaders, and recognized Nigerian
academics leading the way in noting the ground breaking message of the book --
African sign and symbol systems such as Uli, although artistic, are important,
social, and political information systems about the culture they
represent. The well-attended book launch
provided an opportunity to raise the profile of this critical issue for Africa
and the world to see sign and symbol systems differently and as viable
information systems (click here to see Channel TV's clip of Uli Book launch
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX6lX0PL874).
Using Uli as a case study in her Robert Morris University
(RMU) doctoral dissertation which won an award from the University's Department
of Communication and Information System for its uniqueness, the book hails from
her field research about the issue of these very fragile information systems
which Sanders calls "communication expressions," which are
disappearing or endangered around the world. There are a number of them in
Nigeria, with Uli being near the top of the list of disappearing completely,
particularly the meanings of the motifs.
Dr. Sanders spent time also learning how to draw each of the
motifs herself and her drawings and other graphics are included in the book
along with some 116 color photographs which the Ambassador took of the Uli
women she met and her travels to the region. In line with the tradition in
Nigeria of a leading academic reviewing the book, Dr Chuu Krydz Ikwuemesi, who
worked with the Ambassador over the years in supporting income-generating
projects for Uli practitioners, and who is a leading Nigerian scholar, provided
his professional academic comments about the role the book is playing and will
play as regards to endangered sign and symbol systems such as Uli (click here
for Dr. Ikwuemesi's book review: (http://bit.ly/Ikwuemesi).
In addition leading Nigerian media outlets such as Channels
TV Chairman John Momoh moderated a "conversation," segment with Dr.
Sanders during the launch on the book, current US-Nigeria relations, and next
steps following the US-Africa Summit. Nigeria's leading newspaper, The
Guardian, also covered the event (photo above), and Sanders appeared the next
morning on the Channels TV's main news magazine show, Sunrise Today (see this
link for Channels TV Sunrise Show, which most focused on the current tension in
the US-Nigeria relationship (Sanders' clip begins at minute 7:53 -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O32vXzaFCx8).
Other notable and honored guest speakers at the event
included, Estisalat Chairman Hakeem Belo-Oasgie, former Group Managing Director
of Diamond Bank, Dr. Alex Otti, and one of Nigeria's leading women on SME,
Entrepreneurship, and Development issues, Ms. Evelyn Oputu. Key Guests such as George Ebuh of Petrolog,
General Dambazu, Toke Ibru of The Guardian Newspaper, Terra Kulture Director
Bola Austen-Peters, Arik Airways Chris Ndule and Nigeria's leading and icon
artists Bruce Onoprakpeya and Chief Nike Okundaye were also present. A portion of the book sales will go to the
Nigerian organization the Art Republic, which assists with income-generating
project training for Uli practitioners under the direction of Dr. Ikwuemesi.
