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Prince Kum’a Ndumbe III, the founder of AfricAvenir International, is a renowned and dedicated pan-African scholar. He is a prolific author and the legitimate heir to the throne of Lock Priso (Kum’a Mbape), one of the most significant traditional rulers of the coastal peoples of Cameroon (Sawa). His lifelong commitment has been to the revival and critical reassessment of African cultures, the continent’s history, and the preservation of Africa’s historical artefacts and cultural identity. Prinz Kum’a Ndumbe III continues to champion restitution efforts, notably advocating for the return of the Tangue and compiling extensive documentation to support his claims to Lock Priso’s legacy.
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Published Work: Restituez à l’Afrique ses objets de culte et d’art! : Reconstituons notre mémoire collective africaine! Douala IVè/Cameroun : Éditions AfricAvenir.
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Eric Otieno is a scholar, writer and facilitator interested in the intersections between social justice, postcolonial politics, the global ‘order’ and contemporary art & culture. He is a PhD candidate at the Department of Development and Postcolonial Studies at the University of Kassel, Germany, following degrees in Sociology/Political Science (B.A., Frankfurt DE) and Global Political Economy (M.A., Kassel & Coimbra-PT). Eric is also part of the decolonial memory-politics project kassel postkolonial, a commentator on various online/print platforms and contributing editor and content creator at GRIOT mag.
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Published Work: The First Reactions to the Report on Restitution of Looted Art
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Professor Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie specializes in the arts and visual culture of Africa and its Diasporas, especially in terms of how art history discourses create value for African cultural patrimony in the age of globalization.
Published Work: How to Bring Africa’s Artifacts Back Home from Europe’s Museums
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Yirga Gelaw Woldeyes is a Senior Lecturer, multidisciplinary researcher and writer. His research focuses on the critical study of development, education and law, and the importance of lived experience and epistemic diversity for decolonial and sustainable futures. His teaching practice is informed by the importance of indigenous knowledges, diverse epistemologies, cultures and critical theories. He also researches on African experiences and Ethiopian traditions, and writes creatively on belonging and diasporic lives.
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Published Work: Repatriation: Why Western Museums should Return African Artefacts
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El Hadji Malick Ndiaye holds a doctorate in Art History from Université Rennes II. He is also a graduate of the National Institute of Heritage (Paris) and is a former fellow of the National Institute of Art History (Paris). He is a member of the Orientation Committee of Dak’art 2018 and directed its Commission of Encounters and exchanges. He teaches History of Art and Cultural Heritage, collaborates with several journals and participates in various international scientific activities. As a theoretician and curator, his publications deal with modern / contemporary art and global history, cultural policies and African museum institutions.
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Published Work: Musée, Colonisation, et Restitution (The Museum, Colonization, and Restitution)
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Dr. Akin Ogundiran is the Chancellor's Professor and Professor of Africana Studies, Anthropology & History at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, where he also served as chair of the Africana Studies Department from 2008 to 2018.
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Published Work: Knowledge, Ethics, and Power: Publishing African Objects Without Clear African Provenance
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Toussaint Kafarhire Murhula, S.J., is a Jesuit priest and academic leader. He currently directs the Centre Arrupe for Research and Training (CARF) and teaches at Universite Loyola du Congo. His extensive background includes working as an Executive Coach for African leaders at the African Union Kofi Annan Public Health Leadership program and leading the African Studies Association of Africa. In 2022, he was chosen to engage with U.S. institutions on restitution by the Ministry of Culture, Art, and Heritage of the DRC. As the President of ASAA, he will host the International Congress of African and African Diaspora Studies (ICAADS) and a pan-Africanist conference in Lubumbashi in October 2023, gathering scholars, artists, activists, and policymakers to discuss critical topics like restitution, repatriation, and restoration. His diverse research interests span democracy, African resource governance, transgenerational justice, and leadership coaching. His contributions to academic networks and editorial boards further underscore his dedication to advancing knowledge and discourse.
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Professor Zacharys Anger Gundu teaches archaeology at the Ahmadu Bello University and is a distinguished Senior Fulbright Scholar. He also sat on the Council of the World Archaeological Congress (WAC) between 2013 and 2016 and was Vice President of the Pan African Association of Prehistory and Related Studies from 2014-2018. He also served as the Secretary of the Archaeological Association of Nigeria (AAN) between 198 and 1992 and was President of the Association between 2010 and 2018. He is Editor of the Journal of Nigerian Field Archaeology. He is also a Fellow of the Archaeological Association of Nigeria and a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants (Nigeria). Prof. Gundu is currently Pro-Chancellor and Chairman Governing Council of the Benue State University, Makurdi. Nigeria.
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Published Work: Looted Nigerian Heritage – an Interrogatory Discourse around Repatriation
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Wazi Apoh is Dean of the School of Arts and Associate Professor at the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, University of Ghana. He specializes in the Archaeology of Colonization & Missionization in Togoland; the Archaeology of Gonjaland, Climate Change and Salvage Archaeology; the Archaeology of Slavery in Southeastern Ghana as well as on Issues of Restitution and Repatriation of Colonially Looted African Objects/remains
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Published Work: Mainstreaming the Discourse on Restitution and Repatriation within African History, Heritage Studies and Political Science
