Nigerian gets international appointment from IHRAF

 

NIGERIAN GETS INTERNATIONAL APPOINTMENT FROM IHRAF

By Oluwasegun Oluwadamilare

 

The President of the Society of Young Nigerian Writers and National Publicity Secretary (South) of the Association of Nigerian Authors, Wole Adedoyin, has been appointed as member of the International Human Rights Art Festival Advisory Council For African Literary Projects and Nigerian Outreach Coordinator.

This comes three years after he was appointed by the Gibran National Committee in Beirut, Lebanon as the Coordinator of Gibran Khalil Gibran Society in Nigeria and Africa.

According to a statement, Adedoyin was appointed by Tom Block, Founder and Executive Director of the International Human Rights Art Festival.

On his part, Adedoyin thanked Block for the appointment, pledging to work in accordance with the rules and guidelines of IHRAF and ensure that the objectives in Africa are achieved.

IHRAF gives voice to the voiceless, protects freedom of expression, and uses creativity to highlight human rights and social justice causes around the world.

The organization brings together all members of society through her programmes, from artists-in-exile and at risk; to activists on the front lines of the struggle for rights and justice in their own country; to artists working in all media; and to national and international politicians, government agencies, social leaders and celebrities.

IHRAF believes that creative engagement with all members of the society is the surest path toward social justice and positive change.

Adedoyin is an alumnus of the Study Abroad in Lebanon programme, an initiative of the Wole Soyinka Foundation, Notre Dame University, Louaize and Cedars Institute, Lebanon.

 

He is currently the President of the Society of Young Nigerian Writers and the National Publicity Secretary (South) of the Association of Nigerian Authors.

Before becoming the National Spokesperson of the Association of Nigerian Authors, Adedoyin had served in different committees set up by various Presidents of the Association.

Three of the committees are: National Teen Authorship Scheme (served as National Secretary of the Committee – 2011-2015), Young Writers Mentorship Scheme (also served as National Secretary of the Committee 2016-2019) and Intellectual Property Protection and Advancement Committee (also served as its National Secretary – 2018-2019).

Adedoyin founded the Society of Young Nigerian Writers in 2011.

SYNW is an umbrella organisation that was founded to promote creative writing and literary arts among writers based in Nigeria between the ages of 10 and 40.

It was founded in 2010 at the former house of the Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, at the University of Ibadan.

It was formerly known as the World of Poets and Literary Society.

Society of Young Nigerian Writers is a member of the International Authors Forum.

It has also collaborated with different international organizations like Alliance Francaise (Nigeria), 100 Thousand Poets for Change (USA), Woman Scream International Poetry and Arts Festival (Italy) and lately International Human Rights Art Festival (USA).

Adedoyin is the brain behind annual literary events like Fagunwa Day, Read Across Nigeria, National Week of Remembrance for Departed Writers and National Book Awareness Week.

 

SYNW and IHRAF’S ENDSARS National Poetry Anthology, ‘ENDSARS RHYTHMS’ Finally Released

 

SYNW AND IHRAF’S ENDSARS NATIONAL POETRY ANTHOLOGY, ‘ENDSARS RHYTHMS’ FINALLY RELEASED

 

The Society of Young Nigerian Writers, (SYNW) and the International Human Rights Art Festival (IHRAF) has finally released the highly anticipated poetry anthology tagged ENDSARS RHYTHMS.

ENDSARS RHYTHMS is a product of SYNW and IHRAF’s keenly contested EndSARS National Poetry Competition that took place in the year 2020. SYNW and IHRAF has taken the bold step to publish some of the most outstanding entries received in the collation, selection, recognition and award of very remarkable pieces from deserving participants in the contest.

Literature and arts owe society the duty not just to entertain and educate but also to document the history of the people as well as mirror and x-ray the society. The collaborative efforts of the Society of Young Nigerian Writers, SYNW, and the International Human Rights Arts Festival, IHRAF, to harness the thoughts, feelings and responses of Nigerian artists as well as creative writers and the international writing community on the theme Police Brutality, Assault And Battery by organizing a national poetry contest tagged ‘EndSARS’ National Poetry Competition, 2020 is indeed timely and commendable.

Globally, police are notorious for their corrupt tendencies of bribery, extortion, high handedness, brutality and human rights abuses, sometimes leading to extra judicial killings. The Nigeria Police has not been an exception to this global anomaly. In 2017, a Twitter campaign using the hashtag ‘#ENDSARS’ by Nigerians to demand the disbanding of the Special Anti Robbery Squad, SARS unit of the Nigeria police by the Nigerian government started. In October, 2020, there were renewed calls for the disbandment of SARS generally. This time, the online and social media campaign championed by young Nigerians was followed by widespread protests, marches, demonstrations, online activism and civil disobedience in some cases.

Selecting few entries for award out of more than a hundred beautiful entries from very creative and talented poets across international borders is by no means an easy task. The pain of having to eliminate some fine entries to arrive, even at a Longlist of twenty, let alone a Shortlist, is by far one of the most excruciating and unsung aspects of the job of a judge and editor; especially, a contest whose central theme touches on a global and sensitive aspect of our shared humanity. It is therefore, a huge source of consolation to SYNW and IHRAF for the opportunity to publish additional pieces out of the vast pool of amazing entries received during the call for entries to the EndSARS National Poetry Competition in 2020.

SYNW and IHRAF are happy therefore, for this unique opportunity to make available for your reading pleasure, a significant number of pieces out of the more than a hundred entries we received. It is also hoped that this modest gesture will placate and further console additional number of writers who sent in entries for the competition. We also hope that this compilation provides a rich reading resource and reference material to a variety of readers.

To download your copy free of charge, kindly log on to https://ihraf.org/endsars-poetry-competition or https://endsarspoetryanthology.wordpress.com/2021/01/20/end-sars-rhythms-poetry-anthology-on-police-brutality-assaults-and-battery-finally-out/