We are enthralled with author-architect Lesley Lokko. And with good reason. She is the founder of the African Futures Institute, which has a mission to transform Africa’s built environments by educating a new generation of African architects, urban designers, and policy makers to lead the global conversation around social and environmental equity. Here’s how it started:
It all began with a series of ‘what if’ questions: what if a new school of architecture suddenly emerged from a new and unexpected place? / what if Africa and the African Diaspora held the key to overcoming so many contemporary challenges of race, environmental justice, new forms of urbanism? / what if a new African school could teach the global North how to embed diversity, equity and inclusion at the heart of built environment pedagogy? / what if a constellation of progressive global voices could find the space and freedom to pursue a truly transformative agenda? / what if a new and progressive school could produce a generation of truly innovative African and Diaspora architects, unafraid to tackle some of the world’s thorniest issues? / what if we reversed almost a thousand years of exploitative practices, giving Africa’s dynamism and creative energy a space in which to flourish? / what if Africa was truly understood as the laboratory of the future? To read about the AFI in detail click here. To read about our patrons, trustees and global network of academic advisors, click here.
