by Jewel Stephen

 

Preparations are in top gear as Port Harcourt readies itself for the 7th edition of the Port Harcourt Book Festival, this years event is particularly special because it holds in the year that Port Harcourt is UNESCO World Book Capital. It is going to be another opportunity to raise the flag for readers, book enthusiasts, booksellers, publishers and other stakeholders in the book industry.

The theme for this year’s book festival is ‘Possibilities for Nigeria at 100’ and its primary focus is the youth. The city will once again host astute, intelligent, proactive and game changing Nigerians who have been invited to speak and engage the youth in several discussions at the 6-day festival which commences on the 20th of October, at the Hotel Presidential.

 

Speakers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Japhet Omojuwa is a blogger, socio-economic and political commentator. He has spoken in several universities around the world and has also been described as a Force of Nature due to his ability to create viral debates and campaigns on social media. Omojuwa was ranked 29th on a list of the 100 Most Influential Black People on Digital/Social Media in April 2014 alongside Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ndidi Nwuneli is the founder of LEAP Africa, an NGO that provides leadership training for youth and small business owners and the co-founder of AACE foods an agro-business outfit. With an MBA from the prestigious Harvard Business School, Ndidi has over 19 years of experience in SME development, Agriculture, Consulting and public policy; she serves as a director in Sahel Capital Partners, a leading advisory firm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chude Jideonwo is the author of the book Are We the Turning Point Generation? and editor of the widely read online magazine ‘Y Naija’, Chude is an award winning journalist, lawyer and media entrepreneur. He and his business partner were named in Forbes 30 under 30: Africa’s Best Young Entrepreneurs, together they run Red Media, the company in charge of THE FUTURE AWARDS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fela Durotoye is the CEO of Gem Stone Group, a motivational speaker and author of the popular book “17 secrets of High Flying Students”. He is a sought after public speaker, nation builder and social entrepreneur. In 2012, Fela broke a world record by signing 10,000 copies of his book in 8 hours 49 minutes in Lagos

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christie Bature Ogbeifun is an author, musician and a prolific public speaker, she is the president of Sine Qua Non an organization which works with young people to inspire, develop and drive change. Her TV programme “Everyday People” is currently aired in 53 nations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nekabari Tigidam Perez is the C.E.O of TouchPh a digital information service and platform which shares real time information about Port Harcourt, he is the convener of the OpenCity Africa Ideas & Innovation Conference, with its first edition headlined by Dr Oby Ezekwesili (Former VP World Bank Africa), Tonye Cole (CEO Sahara Energy) and a host of other high profile speakers. Perez has years of experience in destination branding in a digital space. And his company is known to have developed Nigeria’s first social engagement and digital destination marketing project.