Emmanuel Ande Ivorgba, PhD

Dr. Emmanuel Ande Ivorgba is a success-driven Visionary, Administrator, Educator, Researcher, Grassroots Peacebuilder, Conflict Resolution Practitioner and Solutions Economist with years of experience driving dramatic results in the nonprofit sector, empowering young people with tools to heal them- selves, build bridges across their differences, and create the space for peace to flourish. Dr. Emmanuel Ande Ivorgba holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Religions. He also holds a Graduate Certificate in School Management and Leadership (CSML) from the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), a Masters Degree in General Management from Guglielmo Marconi University, Rome, Italy and a Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) from HIPDET University, Bamenda, Cameroon.

Dr. Emmanuel Ande Ivorgba is a Paul Harris Fellow, and Member of several international associations, such as the American Academy of Religion (AAR), Institute for Biblical Scholarship in Africa, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Leadership, Education and Development (CILED), USA, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Leadership and Governance (CILG) and also Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Educational Practitioners (CIEPUK), UK. He is a member of the Academic Advisory Board of the School of Education, Adamas University, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Dr. Ivorgba also serves on the Governing Council of Global Interfaith University, Delaware, USA.

He is the founder of Creative Minds International Academy, a K-12 school focused in empowering Nigerian students with the tools and motivation to think critically, explore the inter-connectedness of all life and establish sustainable relationships with the world that surrounds them. Emmanuel's life work is reaching out to youth around the world to create a culture of peace and justice. He is recipient of the 2014 Unsung Heroes of Compassion Award in San Francisco for his leadership, service to humanity and peace building efforts, around the world.

Dr. Ivorgba currently serves as West Africa Regional Coordinator for United Religions Initiative (URI), Coordinator, Ethics Education Fellowship (EEF) for Arigatou International, Geneva and Executive Director for New Era Educational and Charitable Support Foundation. He is also Managing Director, Konensens Development Initiative (KDI-Nigeria). He had previously served as Global Study Circle Coordinator for The Dalai Lama Foundation and Council Ambassador to the Parliament of the World's Religions. He was also on the Board of Directors of Museum Africa, a Chicago, USA based Metropolitan Museum and Library of African History conducting research on African cultures as well as providing a large collection of primary source documents, books and artifacts pertaining to continental Africa's history. He is Convener/Director of the Annual International Conference on Youth and Interfaith Dialogue in Nigeria, which hosts over 350 participants from more than 10 countries annually. He has travelled widely and presented papers at conferences, seminars and workshops Nigeria and abroad, including at Stanford Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) and Vaden Student Health Center, both at Stanford University.

He was also Keynote Speaker on 'The Role of Education in Peacebuilding" at the 2013 Valencia College's "Conversations for Peace Conference", Valencia Community College, Orlando, Florida, USA. Dr. Emmanuel Ande Ivorgba also previously served as Resource Person, Trainer and Facilitator at the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations- Education First Summer School, in Tarrytown, New York, USA, from 2014-2015, where he led Special Sessions on Interfaith Dialogue Models and Discussions Circles.