Selected work
From research to practice
2025 · Heritage Interpretation
Interpreting contested memory: Hector Pieterson Memorial
Context
Research and public presentations on how institutions interpret difficult, contested histories, with the Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum in Soweto, South Africa, as a central case.
My role
Researcher and presenter, including a 2025 Korean Government side event during the UNESCO World Heritage Committee session and the 2025 International Seminar on Heritage Interpretation in Seoul.
Why it matters to clients
Sites of painful memory need interpretation that is honest, stakeholder-aware, and able to hold more than one truth. This is the core of my interpretation advisory.
Related practice: Heritage, Restitution & Interpretation
Social Impact
Leading a social-impact project: Netzero Demonstration and Training Center
Context
A Gerda Henkel Foundation Social Impact Grant–supported initiative linking sustainability, training, and place-based development.
My role
Project leadership, concept development, and coordination of the funded initiative.
Why it matters to clients
I know what it takes to move a project from concept note to funded, working initiative, and I bring that experience to grant strategy, project design, and partnership building.
Related practice: Grants, Research & Executive Training
Heritage Restoration
Restoring the Premier Building, Hope Waddell Training Institution
Context
A heritage restoration initiative at Hope Waddell Training Institution in Calabar, Nigeria, supported by the Gerda Henkel Foundation’s Patrimonies program.
My role
[confirm role — e.g. project advisor]
Why it matters to clients
Restoration succeeds when historical significance, funding strategy, and institutional coordination are aligned from the start. This project brought all three together.
Related practice: Heritage, Restitution & Interpretation
2025–2026 · International Research
Transnational heritage research with the Korea UNESCO Research Institute
Context
Pilot research funding in 2025, followed by a 2026 Transnational Heritage Joint Research Grant from the Korea UNESCO Research Institute.
My role
[confirm role — e.g. principal investigator]
Why it matters to clients
Heritage increasingly crosses borders. This work builds the evidence and partnerships needed to address transnational heritage questions across cultures and institutions.
Related practice: Heritage, Restitution & Interpretation
Policy contributions
Culture in the localization of the SDGs
Contributor to international work on the role of culture in Voluntary Local Reviews and the localization of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Cultural action for gender equality in cities and territories
Contributor to UCLG Culture 21 work connecting cultural policy, gender equality, and local governance.
SELECTED BOOKS
Who Owns Africa? Neocolonialism, Investment, and the New Scramble (ed.)
Leuven University Press, 2022
The Second Colonial Occupation: Development Planning, Agriculture, and the Legacies of British Rule in Nigeria
Lexington Books, 2017
Twentieth Century Youth Protest Movements: Learning through Sources
Kendall Hunt, 2020
A source-based study of youth protest movements and the politics of collective action in the twentieth century.
DAAD — HAW.International