Gearing up for Project WS

Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka

Preparations for the fifth Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange programme tagged Open Door Series have started in earnest.  The project is a brainchild of Zmirage Multimedia Limited led by Mr. Teju Kareem.

Arts Dome learnt that the project will be held in a grand style in Nigeria and some selected countries abroad because the face of the project, Soyinka, will be 80 in July. Producer of the project, Lillian Amah-Aluko, said this year’s edition of the event promises to exude quality and distinctiveness in its packaging and delivery than its past ones.

She added that all hands are on deck to make the 2014 edition memorable. ‘‘We are working hard so that we can have a well-packaged event of international standard. When the event starts between July 7 and 14, it will be seen that it has become a major brand not only in Nigeria but across the world. WS 80 is very significant to us at Z-mirage for two reasons.

First, the project will enter its fifth year as a cultural advocacy initiative and two, the face of the project will be 80. It is going to be a landmark event because there are so many individuals that will be involved in it,’’ Amah-Aluko stated.

She added that there would be the staging of major plays of Soyinka in Nigeria and abroad to commemorate the event. According to her, funding is one of the challenges facing the organisers but ‘‘The governments of Ogun and Osun states were supportive in past editions of the project.We hope to get more support to celebrate this event in a different way because many people are enthusiastic about it.’’

Kareem earlier stated that any laudable project must develop as a brand, adding that brand development itself is a process. He noted that considering the ideals of Soyinka, any element that would be infused into the project must echo same.

(Culled From: PUNCH)

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