Co-Investigator
Prof. Temitope Balogun
Professor of Discourse Studies, Pragmatics and Gender Studies.
Ẹ káàbọ̀ · Welcome
Empowering female and youth entrepreneurship through Yoruba oral arts in Southwest Nigeria: a UNESCO-IFCD project led by Osun State University’s College of Humanities & Culture.
About the project
The UNESCO-IFCD-UNIOSUN Project, in partnership with the Office of the Special Adviser to the Governor of Osun State on Education and the Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN), is embarking on a groundbreaking initiative to empower young entrepreneurship through oral arts in Southwest Nigeria.
What the project does
The Proficiency Certificate Course in Digitising Yoruba Oral Arts (DYOA) prepares oral artists for the digital creative economy.
Including TOFAC 2025 and an international workshop on inter-religious dialogue at the University of Lagos.
Recording and animating Yoruba oral arts so they can reach new audiences online.
Yoruba language and culture courses that keep the tradition in everyday use.
Recent milestones
Events, awards and reports from the project, newest first. Photographs and documents are on the resources page.
All resources
UNIOSUN Cultural CarnivalYoruba Heritage in the Digital Age: Bridging Tradition and Technology. Included the DYOA 1.0 certification briefing and the carnival beauty pageant.
UNESCO World Poetry Day awardsPrizes presented to Yoruba poets and oral artists.
DYOA Technical ReportA full account of the virtual training: delivery, assessment, outcomes and recommendations.
Our leads
Principal Investigator & Director
Historian of the sociocultural and economic history of Nigeria.
Prof. Olukoya Ogen obtained his PhD degree in History from the University of Lagos as well as a Certificate in Trade, Growth and Poverty from the World Bank Institute, Washington DC in 2006.
Co-Investigator
Professor of Discourse Studies, Pragmatics and Gender Studies.
Co-Investigator
Engineer, actor and National Chairman of TAMPAN’s Town & Gown Committee.
Senior Research Fellow
Ethicist and gender inclusion expert, Department of Philosophy.
Prof. Olukoya Ogen obtained his PhD degree in History from the University of Lagos as well as a Certificate in Trade, Growth and Poverty from the World Bank Institute, Washington DC in 2006. He was a Leventis Scholar at the University of London in 2008; a British Academy Visiting Fellow at the University of Birmingham in 2009; a Cadbury Visiting Fellow in 2010; and an American Council of Learned Societies Postdoctoral Fellow in 2011.
He was also the Country Director and Co-Investigator of a European Research Council Grant from 2012 to 2017. He was awarded the University of Leeds' LUCAS-LAHRI Visiting Fellowship in 2022.
He also won the prestigious UNESCO International Fund for Cultural Diversity grant in 2023 among other research grants. He specialises in the sociocultural and economic history of Nigeria.
Professor Temitope Balogun is a professor of Discourse Studies, Pragmatics and Gender Studies. She had her first degree in English Language in Ogun State University Ago Iwoye in 1992. She proceeded to obtain her Master's and Doctorate degrees in English Language at the university of Ibadan in 2006 and 2010 respectively.
Prof. Temitope Balogun has functioned in different capacities within the university community. Some of which include: Ag.Head of Department, Ag. Director of Gender and Policy Studies, Ag. Director General Studies, Ag. Dean/Provost, Provost amongst others. She received TETFUND travel grant to present a research paper in the United Kingdom in 2016, she is also, the Principal Investigator of the 2020/2021 TETFUND Award of NRF grant.
She has served as an Examiner and Assessor at the Obafemi Awolowo University, University of Ibadan, Ladoke Akintola University, and Leeds City University. She has edited and written books in her field as well as published journals in reputable national and international outlets. Currently, Professor Balogun is a Senate Representative on the Governing Council at Osun State University.
Dr Olajumoke Akiode is an ethicist, gender inclusion expert and advocate. She has over 15 years experience in sociopolitical and policy researches, a gender lens infrastructure expert and advocate.
She has publications in reputable journals and book chapters locally and internationally. She lectures at the department of Philosophy in Osun State University.
Oguntola Jelili ALAMU holds PhD in Mechanical Engineering with over 26 years of teaching, research and administrative experience in the University system. His research interests are in Thermodynamics of materials, Fluid flow and Renewable energy. He is a Co-Investigator on UNESCO-International Fund for Cultural Diversity project and has published widely in high impact journals.
He is the Editor-In-Chief, Uniosun Journal of Engineering & Environmental Sciences and a member of professional organizations including Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) and African Wind Energy Association amongst others. He has attended conferences across Africa, Asia and the United Kingdom. Professor Oguntola Alamu was a former Acting Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University, Osogbo, Nigeria.
He holds multiple African traditional chieftaincy titles. He is an Actor and the National Chairman of Town & Gown Committee of Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN).