The time for you to join the Africa Awareness Initiative's executive for the upcoming school year is approaching very fast. The election of new executive members will be taking place at around 5pm March 9, 2012 and the venue will be announced soon.

The summary of the portfolio for each position in AAI below will help you in the thinking process and give you a rough idea of what should you be expected to fulfill in whatever position you are interested to apply for.

President:

Mehak Tejani

Email: chair.aai@gmail.com

Place of Origin: Tanzania

Program of Study at UBC: Economics

Study Level: Undergraduate Third Year

About the AAI President:

"The President ensures that the club is running smoothly and is active on campus. The primarily role of this portfolio is to provide support and guidance to all executives in their endeavours towards realizing the African Dream. The president ensures that the team is working towards a common purpose, the African Dream. The president is also an ambassador of the African community on campus as he/she attends various meetings and events; also sits on the African Studies committee and works closely with the AMS/AUS and other constituencies involved in solidifying and expanding the current AFST program."

VP Internal:

Charles Maganga

Email: aai.vpinternal@gmail.com

Place of Origin: Tanzania

Program of Study at UBC: Applied Sciences

Study Level: TBA

About the AAI VP Internal:

"The Vice-President Internal’s role is to oversee all internal matters such as discussion with members, organizing volunteers, and to host academic and social events. They serve one of the most important roles in bridging the members to involvement for an African Studies Major, by organizing events or forums where the latest developments in the program can be announced and shared. Also its the duty of the Vp Internal to collaborate with other clubs on campus that have similar goals and mandate as AAI."

Co-VP Externals:

Benjamin Dejonghe Jelsma

Email: aai.vpexternal@gmail.com

Place of Origin: Tennessee, USA

Program of Study at UBC: Geography

Study Level: Undergraduate Second Year

Osaze Omokaro

Email: conferencemarketing.aai@gmail.com

Place of Origin: Nigeria

Program of Study at UBC: TBA

Study Level: TBA

About the Co-VP Externals:

"The Co-positions of VP External are in charge of planning the flagship event of the AAI - Conference Week. With support for the team, the Co-VP Externals will conceptualize, execute and publicize the conference, tasks which require organizational skills and high levels of professionalism. Not only do the Co-VP Externals bear full responsibility for the smooth running of the entire week of events, they also represent a bridge to the external UBC campus and Vancouver as a larger community. These positions require passion because the Co-VP Externals act as ambassadors, representing what we believe in as an organization, as a community at UBC and as those who love Africa."

VP Finance:

Ofumi Sanni

Email: aai.vpfinance@gmail.com

Place of Origin: Nigeria

Program of Study at UBC: Finance

Study Level: TBA

About the AAI VP Finance:

"The VP Finance oversees all the financial activities of AAI and is the liaison between the AMS and AAI. The VP Finance is responsible for handling reimbursements, taking care of float for events, creating budgets and ensuring the budgets are been met, and assisting the VP External in applying for sponsorships."

VP Marketing:

Jesse Maruti

Email: vpmarketing.aai@gmail.com

Place of Origin:Nairobi, Kenya

Program of Study at UBC: Sauder School of Business, Major TBA

Study Level: Undergraduate Second Year

About the AAI VP Marketing:

"Main responsibility of this portfolio is to promote and market AAI-related events, the annual AAI Conference, and the UBC African Dream. This will be effectively achieved through close communication with Vice President Internal, External, Webmaster and Director of Conference week, as well as communicating with the rest of the executive team. The position seeks to reach out to the UBC community as well as communities beyond the university. Furthermore, it aspires to enhance and/or maintain the reputation and credibility of AAI projects, the UBC African Dream movement, and the Initiative in general through marketing strategies."

VP Administration:

Yoyo Eto

Email: vpadmin.aai@gmail.com

Place of Origin: Nigeria

Program of Study at UBC: TBA

Study Level: TBA

About the AAI VP Admin:

"As VPAdmin my portfolio includes keeping the AAI general body up to date with what is going on by sending out the bi-weekly newsletter. Additionally, I am the booking rep for AAI which means that I also book rooms for certain event such as exec meetings and member meetings. I am a liaison between AAI exec body and the members by keeping track of our member lists and also keeping the contact list up to date; I also do this by pairing up the mentors and mentees in the Big Brother/ Big Sister program we have. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me."

AAI Global Lounge Representative:

Olufunke Omole

Email: olufunkeomole@gmail.com

Place of Origin: Nigeria

Program of Study at UBC: Undergraduate Chemical Engineering

Study Level: TBA

About the AAI VP Admin:

"As the global lounge representative, I act as the liaison between AAI and the global lounge. This is an awesome position as I have met people from different backgrounds who care about the world and world events. Being the global lounge representative provides me with the opportunity to be a part of so many committees. I am part of the global lounge programming committee which organizes the GL events."

Webmaster:

Leonard Elisha

Email: webmaster.aai.ubc@gmail.com

Place of Origin: Tanzania

Program of Study at UBC: Bachelor of Science in Computational Mathematics and Atmospheric Sciences with a Geography Minor

Study Level: Undergraduate Fourth Year

About the AAI Webmaster:

"The AAI Webmaster portfolio requires passion and skills in web developing and using technology to represent AAI online. The portfolio includes maintaining the content of the website, edit website content, website hosting technical requirements, and updating the website with urgent and up to date information. To perform the website material for the AAI website, the webmaster requires at least basic programming skills in html, javascript and php will be a plus, better understanding and proficiency in Adobe design softwares such as Photoshop and Flash for preparing flash content and other web graphics. In addition, as a part of a team, the webmaster requires excellent skills in working with a team in promotions and advertisements. Last but not the least, the Webmaster needs to contribute his/her opinions just about anything in club meetings. Dedication and excitement to reach excellence in serving AAI are the main requirements for the webmaster."

The Africa Awareness Initiative (AAI) was founded in 2002 through efforts by students, faculty, and the community as a response to the lack of representation and intelligent dialogue regarding Africa around the UBC’s campus.

The Initiative aims to challenge the misleading presentation of the African continent as a homogeneous and often negative entity and broaden awareness around Africa-related topics.

Africa Awareness plans to host lots of entertaining, interactive, cultural, and academic events this year! Check out our upcoming events in the AAI Calendar and come join the fun!