The Rt. Hon. Lord Paul Boateng PC DL
The Rt Hon The Lord Paul Boateng PC DL was the UK High Commissioner to RSA 2005 -2009.A lawyer by profession he grew up in Ghana and with his wife Lady Janet was a prominent member of the Anti Apartheid Movement in the UK during the struggle years. He was a Member of Parliament,1987-2005 and as Chief Secretary to the Treasury was the UK’s first Black Cabinet Minister. He was the Keynote Speaker at the launch of the Foundation in 2005 and has been closely associated with its development ever since. He currently Chairs the Nairobi based Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund a Pan African multi donor development fund focused on Agri and renewable energy and on the Asia/Africa initiative Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor focused on mobilising capacity and resources to deliver SDG 6. He sits on the Board of the U.K. regulated Ghana International Bank and Chairs it’s Remuneration and Nominations Committee.
Hon. Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia
A renowned world ecumenical leader the Hon. Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia is the immediate former general secretary of the World Council of churches (WCC). He is since 2011 a Commissioner of Judicial service Commission of Kenya which is tasked with responsibility to transform the Judiciary of Kenya, ensure the independence of the judiciary and recruit and give direction over the performance of judges and magistrates. As the Ecumenical Special Envoy for South Sudan and Sudan since 2010 Kobia provides high level diplomacy and advocacy for the two Sudans on behalf of All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) and WCC. He is currently deeply involved in coordinating ecumenical peace initiatives for peace, reconciliation and healing for South Sudan. He is, since 2007 the Chancellor of St. Paul’s University Limuru, Kenya.
Professor Chabani Manganyi
Professor Chabani Manganyi was the Chairman of the Foundation from 2009 – 2016. He is a retired academic who held senior positions at the universities of Limpopo (Vice Chancellor) and Pretoria (Vice Principal). A founding Executive Director of the Joint Education Trust, he was appointed Director General of Education during the Mandela Administration in 1994. His work has appeared in scholarly journals, in collected essays and in biographies of Es’kia Mphahlele, Gerard Sekoto and Dumile Feni. Professor Manganyi is a Research Fellow of the centers for Advanced Study and Scholarship of the universities of Pretoria and Stellenbosch.
Professor Akilagpa Sawyerr
Professor Akilagpa Sawyerr, former President of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, also served as Secretary-General of the Association of African Universities, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, and member of the Council of State in Ghana, a body of elders tasked with advising the President. He has led several local and international civil society organizations, including STAR-Ghana and the Global Development Network. His research interests focus on globalization, higher education, human development and international negotiations. He brings a wealth of experience in the field of higher education, an area of critical focus for the Foundation.