Event Itinerary

18:00

Film Screening: The Shadow Scholars

Directed by Eloise King

Researched by Patricia Kingori | Produced by Steve McQueen

The film follows Patricia Kingori, the youngest female professor in Oxford’s 925-year history, as she travels to Nairobi to uncover a global network of educated Kenyans writing essays for Western students.

19:30

Welcome Reception

Hosted by Meryanne Loum-Martin

Opening remarks by Claude Grunitzky and Ambassador Georges-Emmanuel Germany

(Former President of the Bar of Martinique; appointed by the President of Benin to oversee the issuance of diaspora passports)

Drinks and cocktails around bonfires, followed by a torch-lit walk to the inaugural dinner, accompanied by the sounds of Akiyo, the Guadeloupean group reviving ancestral musical traditions.

Reclaiming the Wor(l)d: Blackness as a Global Inheritance

09:30 – 10:15

The Politics of Power

Claude Grunitzky and Christiane Taubira

Moderated by Mame-Fatou Niang

10:30 – 11:10

Conversation with the Author of The Sum of Us

Heather McGhee in conversation with Lori Stokes

The Art of Memory: Archiving Blackness

11:20 – 12:00

Re-curating History and Restoring Black Visibility in Art

Denise Murrell, Christy Pichichero, Edda Fields-Black

Moderated by Lori Stokes

12:15 – 12:50

Conversation with the Author of Reframing Blackness

Alayo Akinkugbe in conversation with Magalie Laguerre-Wilkinson

13:00 – 14:30

Festive Lunch in the Garden

Writing Our Presence

15:00 – 15:45

A Dialogue on Writing the Black World

Patricia J. Williams and Mohamed Mbougar Sarr

Moderated by Claude Grunitzky

Free Time - Silent meditation on the Serpentine Path (optional)

19:30

Evening Concert: Dee Dee Bridgewater & China Moses

The legendary jazz singer performs in duo with her daughter.

21:00

Dinner & Bonfire Conversations

Futures, Technologies, and Business for Generational Wealth

09:30 – 10:15

Words, Memories, and Rituals as Vessels for Moving Forward

Enuma Okoro, Mame-Fatou Niang, Heather McGhee

Moderated by Claude Grunitzky

10:30 – 11:10

Creativity and Music as a Business

Dee Dee Bridgewater, China Moses, Tulani Bridgewater-Kowalski

Moderated by Lori Stokes

11:30 – 12:10

Building a Global Business

Claude Grunitzky in conversation with Lori Stokes

12:30 – 14:00

Midday Break & Garden Lunch

14:15 – 16:00

Black Futures in Tech and AI

Ovetta Sampson, Ruha Benjamin, Bryan Lattimore

Moderated by Lori Stokes

16:30

Return to hotel

19:00

The Diaspora Concert

A musical journey from African percussion to the Americas, tracing the roots of Black cultural heritage.

21:00

Exclusive Dinner with Speakers

Premium ticket holders join speakers for an intimate evening of cuisine, music, and dialogue.

(Standard ticket holders receive curated restaurant recommendations.)

The Wealth of Our Identities

09:30 – 10:15

Presence Over Erasure

Heather McGhee, Mame Fatou Niang, Pamela Newkirk

Moderated by Claude Grunitzky

10:30 – 11:15

Color, Power, and Representation

Chrystèle Saint-Louis Augustin, Melissandre Monatus, Keyza Nubret

Moderated by Claude Grunitzky

11:30

Garden Walk & Artist Encounter

Experience works by Stephen Burks and Malika Leiper, followed by conversation with the designers.

12:30

Departure for The Montresso Art Foundation

Lunch on site and visit of the residency

15:00

Return to town

Free time - Silent meditation on the Serpentine Path (optional)

19:45

Closing Gala Dinner at Jnane Tamsna