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Joyce Ashuntantang (Joyce Ash) is a poet, actress, interdisciplinary scholar, and Professor of English at the University of Hartford, Connecticut. A graduate of universities on three continents, Dr. Ashuntantang received a BA in English with a minor in Theater Arts from the University of Yaoundé, Cameroon, a Master's in Library and Information Science from the University of Aberystwyth, UK, and a Ph.D. in English/African Literature from the City University of New York. She is the author of many scholarly and creative publications, which include Landscaping Postcoloniality: The Dissemination of Cameroon Anglophone Literature (2009), Routledge Handbook of Minority Discourses in African Literature, coedited (2020), and four poetry collections, Their Champagne Party Will End: Poems in Honor of Bate Besong, coedited (2008), A Basket of Flaming Ashes (2010), Beautiful Fire (2018, Arabic trans. 2024) and Bearing Witness, coedited (2020). Beautiful Fire won the prestigious African Literature Association (USA) Book of the Year Award - Creative Writing (2020).She has appeared as an invited poet in many countries worldwide, including England, Germany, Nicaragua, Greece, Costa Rica, Colombia, Bangladesh, Cameroon, and the USA. She has also contributed to several international anthologies of poetry, including Peace for Afrin, Peace for Kurdistan (2019), Hiraeth-Erzolirzoli: A Wales - Cameroon Anthology (2018), Poems for the Hazara (2014), Reflections: An Anthology of New Work by African Women Poets (2013) and We Have Crossed Many Rivers: New Poetry from Africa (2012). Her poems have been translated into Spanish, Greek, Hebrew, Turkish, Bangla, Arabic and Romanian. Her Awards include the Spirit of Detroit Award for Leadership (1987), Ministry of Culture, Cameroon, Award for Outstanding Performance in Theater (1989, 1994), Belle K. Ribicoff Prize for Excellence in Teaching and Scholarship (2012), Kathrak-Bangladesh Literary Award (2018), the Pan-African Ivory Club of Tampa Educator award (2018) and the President's Service award for outstanding volunteer contributions in community service to the United States (2024). Professor Ashuntantang is also a community leader dedicated to empowering women and girls to reach their full potential. She is the vice president of the African Women Summit, Cameroon chapter, and president of the all-female Ex-Saker Students Association in the USA. Eric Chinje is a Cameroonian-born and raised Communications and Media expert. He is also a visiting scholar at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Fluent in English and French, Mr. Chinje studied at the universities of Yaoundé (Cameroon), Syracuse (New York), and Harvard (Cambridge, Massachusetts). He has held leadership positions in local and international organizations based in Washington, Tunisia, London, Nairobi, and Yaoundé, including Chief Executive Officer of African Media Initiative (AMI), Senior Adviser at KRL International, Director for Strategic Communications at the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, World Bank's External Relations Manager for Africa, Head of External Affairs and Communication unit at the African Development Bank, Editor in Chief of Cameroon Television and a contributing correspondent for CNN World Report, and a stringer for the BBC World Service, Voice of America, and Deutsche Welle Radio. He served as an Adviser to the governments of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Liberia, and South Sudan on their strategic, development, and international communications - an extension of his role as a Senior Advisor at the Washington-based International Communications and Relations firm, KRL International. After formal employment, Mr. Chinje's attention has turned to civic and philanthropic endeavors. He volunteers for these worldwide, especially in his home country, Cameroon. Mr. Chinje has received many prestigious awards and recognitions, including a lifetime achievement award for audio-visual communication from the ICT University Cameroon (2023) and a Man of the Year award from the Pan-African Ivory Club of Tampa, Florida, USA (2023). He is an Officer of the Cameroon Order of Merit and an Officer of the Dutch Order of Orange Nassau.
