Dr Joan Oviawe

Dr Joan Osa Oviawe is the Executive Chairman of Edo State Universal Basic Education Board and Special Adviser on Basic Education to the Governor of Edo State. She is also the Founder of the Africa Special Interest Group of the Comparative and International Education Society, an active and vibrant scholarly community that encourages and supports critical inquiries into African educational issues. The network includes academics, practitioners and graduate students from over 15 countries. She is a member of the Education Special Interest Group of the 100 Year Starship, a global initiative of former astronaut Dr Mae Jemison, to promote science and technology and to ensure the capabilities for human travel beyond our solar system exist within the next 100 years. She is the recipient of several awards including: Woman of the Year Award, Martin Luther King Distinguished Service Award and Excellence in Civic Engagement Award. As well as the Woman of Distinction Award from St. Maria Goretti Old Girls International. She served as Visiting Fellow at the Institute for African Development at Cornell University and a Faculty Fellow at the Telluride House, Cornell University. She was previously a Visiting Scholar at Cornell’s Africana Studies and Research Centre. She has a PhD degree in Cultural Studies and Social Thought in Education, an MSc degree in International and Intercultural Education and a Bachelors in Public Policy and Administration with specialised honors.