Dr. Esi Sutherland
Esi Sutherland-Addy is Associate Professor of African Studies at the University of Ghana. Her main Research Interests are written and oral Literature, women’s literature, educational and cultural policy. Her current research project entitled Oral Traditions and Expressive Diversity involving the collection and digitization of Ghanaian Oral Traditions.
She has over 60 publications including Women Writing Africa-West African and the Sahel edited with Aminata Diaw. Sutherland-Addy was Deputy Minister for Tourism and Culture (1986) and Higher Education (1986-1993) in the Republic of Ghana
Sutherland-Addy’s Civil Society Activities lie in the areas of higher education, girls’ education, children, Pan Africanism, culture and public space. She has served on several national and international boards including the Ghana Commercial Bank, Open Society for West Africa, and The Commonwealth of Learning.
She is currently the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights, the Forum of African Women Educationalists (Ghana) and Afram Publications Ghana Ltd and the PANAFEST Foundation. She is also a member of Board Of Advisors for the industry programme on the Preservation of Africa’s Audio-Visual Media Assets, Broadcast Media Africa. and a member of the Board of Mmofra Foundation
Esi Sutherland-Addy is Associate Professor of African Studies at the University of Ghana. Her main Research Interests are written and oral Literature, women’s literature, educational and cultural policy. She served as an adjunct Professor at the New York University Accra Campus and has been guest lecturer at Indiana University, Manchester University and the Institut des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris.
She has managed several research projects and is currently, Principal Investigator on the research project entitled Oral Traditions and Expressive Diversity involving the collection and digitization of Ghanaian Oral Traditions funded by the Andrew Mellon Foundation. -Addy was Deputy Minister for Tourism and Culture (1986) and Higher Education (1986-1993) in the Republic of Ghana.
In this capacity she managed several national projects including the establishment of the W.E. B. Dubois Memorial Centre for Pan African Culture and the Tertiary Education Reform Programme funded by the World Bank. Internationally, she was Co-Rapporteur General of the World Conference on Education For All UNESCO/UNICEF/WORLD BANK; Jomtien, Thailand.Date: 5th – 9th March 1990 and Rapporteur General for the 5th World Conference on Adult Education UNESCO; Hamburg, Germany. Date: 14th – 18th July 1997.
She has over 60 publications including the following edited works: Perspective on African Mythology (1998) Women Writing Africa-West African and the Sahel. (2005) edited with Aminata Diaw and Africa in Contemporary Perspective (2013) edited with Takyiwaa Manuh.
She has written and produced documentary films including two about iconic Ghanaian artists/intellectuals : Okyeame Boafo Akuffo: Akan linguist and Poet”. (1986) “Ephraim Amu: His Life and Works” (1989)
She has been keynote speaker at 10th Conference of the International Society for the Oral Literatures of Africa (12th -15th June 2014) at the Universite Houphuet Boigny, Cocody,Cote d’Ivoire. Address “Speaking the Heritage into a Rising Africa: The New Educational Frontier”
The 9th Faculty of Arts Colloquium, University of Ghana (12th -13thApril 2011) Address: “Musings on Creativity as the Spark for Modern Nationhood
49th Conference of the International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives (1st October2018 ) Address: “Sankofa: Exploring Memory as the Life Force of the Future”
Sutherland-Addy’s Civil Society Activities lie in the areas of higher education, girls’ education, children, Pan Africanism, culture and public space. She has served on several national and international boards including the Ghana Commercial Bank, Open Society for West Africa, The Commonwealth of Learning.
She is currently the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights, the Forum of African Women Educationalists (Ghana) ,Afram Publications Ghana Ltd and the PANAFEST Foundation. She is also a member of the Board of Advisors for the “Industry programme on the Preservation of Africa’s Audio-Visual Media Assets” under the auspices of the Broadcast Media Africa company. As member of the Board of Mmofra Foundation she acts as the Executive Director. So far she has managed projects funded by the Healthbridge Foundation, Goethe Institut, the German and French Embassies, the British High Commission , UNICEF and UNESCO among others.
Esi Sutherland-Addy has received several awards including Hon. Fellowship of the College of Preceptors, U.K. (1998), Group Award by the Rockefeller Foundation (2001&2002) for the Women Writing Africa Project; an Honorary Dr. of Letters. (Winneba), (2004) and the Excellence in Distance Education Award and Honorary Fellowship from the Commonwealth of Learning (2008). Ghana Tourism Authority 20th Anniversary Emancipation Day Award (2018)
1997- BA Hons (French/Linguistic) University of Ghana
1980 – MA (African Area Studies -Folklore, Literature, Dance) University of California at Los Angeles
Career
Esi Sutherland-Addy is Associate Professor of African Studies at the University of Ghana. Her main Research Interests are written and oral Literature, women’s literature, educational and cultural policy. She served as an adjunct Professor at the New York University Accra Campus and has been guest lecturer at Indiana University, Manchester University and the Institut des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris. She has managed several research projects and is currently, Principal Investigator on the research project entitled Oral Traditions and Expressive Diversity involving the collection and digitization of Ghanaian Oral Traditions funded by the Andrew Mellon Foundation. -Addy was Deputy Minister for Tourism and Culture (1986) and Higher Education (1986-1993) in the Republic of Ghana. In this capacity she managed several national projects including the establishment of the W.E. B. Dubois Memorial Centre for Pan African Culture and the Tertiary Education Reform Programme funded by the World Bank. Internationally, she was Co-Rapporteur General of the World Conference on Education For All UNESCO/UNICEF/WORLD BANK; Jomtien, Thailand.Date: 5th – 9th March 1990 and Rapporteur General for the 5th World Conference on Adult Education UNESCO; Hamburg, Germany. Date: 14th – 18th July 1997.
Publications
She has over 60 publications including the following edited works: Perspective on African Mythology (1998) Women Writing Africa-West African and the Sahel. (2005) edited with Aminata Diaw and Africa in Contemporary Perspective (2013) edited with Takyiwaa Manuh. She has written and produced documentary films including two about iconic Ghanaian artists/intellectuals : Okyeame Boafo Akuffo: Akan linguist and Poet”. (1986) “Ephraim Amu: His Life and Works” (1989)
Selected Keynote Speeches
She has been keynote speaker at 10th Conference of the International Society for the Oral Literatures of Africa (12th -15th June 2014) at the Universite Houphuet Boigny, Cocody,Cote d’Ivoire. Address “Speaking the Heritage into a Rising Africa: The New Educational Frontier”
The 9th Faculty of Arts Colloquium, University of Ghana (12th -13thApril 2011) Address: “Musings on Creativity as the Spark for Modern Nationhood
49th Conference of the International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives (1st October2018 ) Address: “Sankofa: Exploring Memory as the Life Force of the Future”
Board Members and Civil Society Activities
Sutherland-Addy’s Civil Society Activities lie in the areas of higher education, girls’ education, children, Pan Africanism, culture and public space. She has served on several national and international boards including the Ghana Commercial Bank, Open Society for West Africa, The Commonwealth of Learning.
She is currently the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights, the Forum of African Women Educationalists (Ghana) ,Afram Publications Ghana Ltd and the PANAFEST Foundation. She is also a member of the Board of Advisors for the “Industry programme on the Preservation of Africa’s Audio-Visual Media Assets” under the auspices of the Broadcast Media Africa company. As member of the Board of Mmofra Foundation she acts as the Executive Director. So far she has managed projects funded by the Healthbridge Foundation, Goethe Institut, the German and French Embassies, the British High Commission , UNICEF and UNESCO among others.
Awards
Esi Sutherland-Addy has received several awards including Hon. Fellowship of the College of Preceptors, U.K. (1998), Group Award by the Rockefeller Foundation (2001&2002) for the Women Writing Africa Project; an Honorary Dr. of Letters. (Winneba), (2004) and the Excellence in Distance Education Award and Honorary Fellowship from the Commonwealth of Learning (2008). Ghana Tourism Authority 20th Anniversary Emancipation Day Award (2018)
Educational Background
1997- BA Hons (French/Linguistic) University of Ghana
1980 – MA (African Area Studies -Folklore, Literature, Dance) University of California at Los Angeles
