WIFTI plans to hold first African Summit in Nigeria
Country Manager, ViacomCBS Networks Africa, Bada Akintunde-Johnson (left); Inya Lawal, Secretary of WIFTI; Carl Michael, Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria; Ooni of Ife, Oba Ogunwusi Adeyeye Enitan; Helene Granqvist, WIFTI President; Nicole Ackermann, President, WIFTI (German Chapter) and Yetty Ogunnubi, CEO, The YD Company during the visit to the Ooni’s palace in Ile Ife.
• Partners Ooni of Ife, Others
The Women in Film and Television International (WIFTI) summit 2022 is set to take place in Africa for the first time with Ascend Studios Foundation (ASF) as the host.
The event is focused on providing women with an enabling environment, accessing film and television funds, reducing gender stifling barriers and giving women positions of power in the entertainment industry.
Led by Inya Lawal, ASF will be working closely with WIFTI which is led by Helene Granqvist, Women in Film and TV Africa (WIFTA), Forum of Women in Film and TV (FWIFT) led by Joke Silva and others to build alliances and partnerships with local and international organisations.
Also, ASF has announced its partnership with Ooni of Ife, Oba Ogunwusi Adeyeye Enitan; the Swedish Embassy in Nigeria; VIACOM CBS Africa and YD Company as supporters of the planned event.
The summit themed “Telling Unique Stories With Film, Music and Dance” is also aimed at “incorporating aspects of film, music, and dance to advance the funding, creation, and distribution of stories that reflect the thriving film culture around the world.”
During a courtesy visit to the palace of the Ooni of Ife, the Secretary of WIFTI, Inya Lawal, spoke on the significance of the partnerships.
“It is such an honour to have the Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria, Carl Michael Gräns, as well as other executive members of WIFTI from Germany and Sweden; the Country Manager for VIACOMCBS Africa, Bada Akintunde-Johnson and the CEO of the YD Company, Yetty Ogunnubi to be part of this event. Having this summit in Nigeria is truly reflective of the grace Africa carries and the potential that is yet untapped,” he said.
Oba Enitan, who appreciated the WIFTI summit team for bringing the event to Nigeria, expressed his support for activities related to women empowerment, especially in Nigeria.
Michael, while highlighting the Swedish government’s commitment to the initiative, said the government was always interested in women empowerment programmes “and WIFTI is the right platform for the cause.”
He added: “Economically, countries struggled with the pandemic and lots of women lost their businesses. This is a great opportunity for those in Nollywood to solve some logistics concerns while they journey through the path of recovery from the pandemic economically.”
President of WIFTI, Helene Granqvist, who also appreciated the Ooni of Ife for the warm reception and partnership opportunity to promote film and TV in Nigeria, said: “The start of the Forum of Women In Film and Television in Nigeria is great and very symbolic for carrying out this vision to the rest of the world.”
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