ADA UGO ABARA

Born in Nigeria and raised in Northern Italy, Ada obtained a BA in Political Sciences, International Relations, and Human Rights at the University of Padova, and an MSc in Development, Cooperation and Innovation in the Global Economy at the University of Turin back in 2017.

Throughout her studies, Ada was upset by the Eurocentric approach that she encountered, with little or no place left for other regional studies, perspectives, or even single authors. She found a few alternatives and then decided to create her own space. In 2015 she founded the association Arising Africans (www.arisingafricans.it) and started deconstructing stereotypes and promoting cultural awareness on black Italy and diasporas in Europe. Amongst their projects, they realized a short movie titled “Io sono Rosa Parks” that premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2018 and a series on systemic racism called “Fading”.

After her Master’s Degree, she started working in the field of diaspora engagement and policymaking; she is now project management and implementation consultant working with different public and private entities. Ada spent four years working as the junior PM of the National Diasporas Summit, a project funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation. She has also organized, supervised, and delivered different training programs on agribusiness, youth entrepreneurship, community organizing, diaspora engagement policies, black Italia, and ICTs for Development for associations, foundations, and NGOs. Ada was also a guest lecturer at the Universities of Padova, Turin, Palermo, Sapienza University, New York University, and many others. She is in charge of the Research and perspective department of Fondazione Aurora and she is engaging African Scholars in an alternative narration on socio-economic trends in the Continent.

Her latest challenge is exploring the exciting world of Information and Communication Technologies for Social Good. She is combining both theory and practice: the founder and CEO of D-Tech 4Good (www.dtech4good.com), a multimedia project that supports for-profit, nonprofit organizations and youth entrepreneurs through the digital transformation process. She also works with innovative startups tackling global challenges with local innovative solutions from Africa.