Meet the speakers

In addition to building a network of committed stakeholders on inclusive and fair partnerships for future action, the goal of this symposium was to present and discuss applied changes in the international field of knowledge partnerships.

Our speakers, are committed to decolonising knowledge. They are striving hard in their own arenas to forge promising and equal partnerships that will enable progress towards sustainable, inclusive societies. And we believe their voices are a critical and inspirational addition to the discussion on equitable partnerships.

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg

Executive-In-Residence at Schmidt Futures, building an initiative focused on senior/executive Black women leaders globally

Dr. Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg is also an advisor and ambassador to the Rise program, and supports the Talent Engine programs at Schmidt Futures integrate global perspectives and a social inclusion lens into their work. She served as the inaugural Executive Director of the Rise program, a joint initiative of Schmidt Futures and the Rhodes Trust.

Previously she was Director of African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) which is working towards inclusive, agriculture-driven prosperity for the African continent with more gender responsive agricultural research and innovation. She has received widespread recognition for her work including being honored as a White House Champion of Change by the Obama Administration.

Dr. Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg

She is a member of the selection committee of the Africa Food Prize, and the Malabo Montpellier Panel, a high-level panel of independent experts that supports African governments and civil society identify and implement policies that enhance agriculture, food and nutrition security across the continent. She also sits on the Board of the Syngenta Foundation, Landesa, & Twaweza and the council of the Gender Fund

Her academic research and teaching interests centered on African politics, gender, international relations, ethnicity, and democratization, and the role of technology in social activism. Born in Kenya, Dr. Kamau-Rutenberg holds a PhD and a Master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Minnesota as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics and a Doctorate (Honoris Causa) both from Whitman College in Washington, U.S.A

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Zuleika Bibi Sheik

Lecturer in Sociology – Black Studies and Intersectionality at the University of Portsmouth, UK

Dr. Zuleika Bibi Sheik’s areas of focus include decolonizing methodology, gender studies, decolonial feminism, black studies, critical race theory and abolition studies. As a South African scholar of Indian descent, her work centers on onto-epistemological re-existence and collective liberation.

Through her PhD research she has developed Liminagraphy, which provides a decolonial feminist critique of the modern/colonial knowledge system whilst simultaneously arguing for a reclaiming of knowledge and research practice that is life-affirming. Liminagraphy centers decolonising the self and being/becoming in relation in order to build coalitions across difference that leads to collective liberation.

Her latest publication ‘Decolonial Re-existence and the Myths of Knowledge Production’ (2022) appears in edited volume Histories, Myths and Decolonial Interventions: A Planetary Resistance.

Dr. Zuleika Bibi Sheik

Keynote Speaker: Dr Sam Oti

Senior Program Specialist at IDRC and member of the Global Health Decolonisation Movement in Africa

Dr Oti is the founding secretary-general of the Network of Impact Evaluation Researchers in Africa (NIERA), and an inaugural member of the Global Health Decolonization Movement in Africa (GHDM-Africa). He is also the creator and host of MedxTek Africa – a podcast that showcases digital health and health technology innovations from across Africa.

Dr Oti has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles, written several blogs and policy briefs, and spoken widely at international and regional events. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health (UK) and an alumnus of the East Africa Social Science Translation fellowship program at the University of California, Berkeley. He is currently a senior program specialist in the Global Health division of the International Development Research Centre.

Dr. Sam Oti

Panellist: Gladys Kemboi

Knowledge Management Advisor

Gladys is a Knowledge Management Advisor with 10 years of local, national, regional and international development experience with a strong track record of implementing Knowledge Management strategy, increasing diversity in Knowledge Management, strengthening knowledge partnerships, facilitating and moderating Knowledge Cafés, mobilizing and restoring indigenous knowledge on traditional medicine in the local villages, advocating for vulnerable groups, cultivating Communities of Practice, championed safe spaces, decolonization of knowledge, epistemic justice, empowering youth and transparent communications to ensure everyone’s voice is heard. She has reviewed “Checklist for Assessing Equity in Knowledge Management Initiatives” at Global Health Knowledge Collaborative and supported the implementation of Global Coalition Knowledge Management Strategy on Youth, Peace and Security with the UNDP, USA.

Gladys has won Global Knowledge Management awards – Highly Commended Knowledge Manager of the Year 2021 by the CILIP-Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals,UK; in 2020, she was awarded the Most Influential Knowledge Management Ambassador and named Mama Africa Knowledge Management guru for leading and championing Knowledge Management in Africa.

Gladys Kemboi

She serves in various boards as Advisory Committee at Global Health Knowledge Collaborate-GHKC; KM4Dev (Knowledge Management for Development); Knowledge Management Community of Washington DC, USA and Visions Of Hope For Africa, USA. She has championed and led KM4Dev Youth Leadership Forum, Africa Knowledge Management Community and Information Society of Kenya.

She is currently undertaking PhD in Knowledge, Technology and Innovation at Wageningen University, Netherlands. She holds Masters in Information and Knowledge Management from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, as well as Bachelor of Technology in Information Studies (Major Knowledge Management) from the Technical University of Kenya and a Certified Community Manager by the World Bank Group. She is a member of the KM4Dev core group.

Panellist: Tsitsi Makombe

Director of External Relations of AKADEMIYA2063

As Director of External Relations, Tsitsi Makombe leads AKADEMIYA2063’s efforts to build, enhance, and maintain innovative and strategic partnerships. She cultivates relationships with a diverse array of partners and stakeholders including continental and regional organizations, national governments, non-state actor organizations, and investors.

Prior to joining AKADEMIYA2063, Tsitsi was a Senior Program Manager with the International Food Policy Research Institute where she successfully managed diverse partnerships and multi-year projects and programs in support of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).

Tsitsi Makombe

She is a certified project management professional (PMP) with over 15 years of programmatic and research experience in African agricultural development. A citizen of Zimbabwe, Tsitsi received her M.S. degree in Agricultural Economics from Michigan State University and a B.S. degree in Agriculture and Natural Resources from Africa University.

AKADEMIYA2063 is an Africa-based non-profit research organization with headquarters in Kigali, Rwanda and a regional office in Dakar, Senegal. Its mission is to create state-of-the art technical capacities to support the efforts of African Union Member States to achieve the key goals of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 of transforming national economies to boost economic growth and prosperity.

Panellist: Dr. Martijn Wienia

NWO Wotro Research Coordinator

Dr Martijn Wienia is research coordinator specialised in research fairness and equitable global partnerships. He serves as senior policy officer to the Dutch Research Council (NWO) division WOTRO Science for Global Development where he leads the inclusive development and global health research clusters. He believes that research fairness is not just morally right but also improves the scientific and societal value of research. Martijn has initiated enabling guidelines and services for more inclusive and equitable research collaboration at NWO-WOTRO. He is advisor in various international committees and working groups. In partnership with Vice Versa magazine, he recently completed an interview series with research fairness champions, covering themes such as ethics dumping, epistemology and fair data. Martijn has a PhD in cultural anthropology from Leiden University.

About KIT

KIT Royal Tropical Institute is an independent centre of expertise and education for sustainable development. We assist governments, NGOs and private corporations around the world to build inclusive and sustainable societies, while measuring their impact.

Guided by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, our work focuses on health, gender, economic development and intercultural cooperation.

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