PROFILE 

Yvonne Mbanefo's career sits at the intersection of digital media, cultural heritage and education, deploying technology as an active tool to educate people through storytelling. She has a deep interest in the relationship between everyday life, individual experiences, power structures, and cultural forms in different communities, as well as ways in which to use them to foster cultural intelligence across societies. She has gained a reputation as a cultural consultant in various projects like film, radio, theatre productions, book publishing and other heritage related projects.  She is best known for her work in Igbo Studies and advocacy for African languages.
 

WORK EXPERIENCE

Hybrid Role (Cultural Consultant / Historical Researcher / Film Producer )            Sept 2019 - Present
Stelo Stories Ltd 
Stelo​ Studios combines storytelling and technology to tell urgent stories that leave a mark
 

Research Associate / Information Designer                                             

Oct 2018 - Oct 2021
Museum Affordances (The Re:entanglement Project)
A Decolonisation Project re-engaging with a remarkable ethnographic archive collected by Northcote Thomas www.re-entanglements.net

Company Director & Digital Strategist                                                       

May 2010- Present
T-One Technologies Limited, London
IT services and Internet Marketing

Cultural Consultant, Translation, Transcription, Historical Research 
March 2011 - Present 
​Various Organisations including :
The UK Justice system, Universities, TED Conferences, BBC, Arsenal Football Club, UK National Theatre, UK Office of National Statistics, DuSable Museum Chicago, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology Cambridge, The South London Gallery, Moonlighting Film Production services (Cape Town, South Africa), Host Publishers (Czech Republic), Anambra Broadcasting Service Radio/TV (Nigeria) and the British Library.

Lecturer of IT, Social Media Marketing & Internet Entrepreneurship                        Sept 2009 – Aug 2014
Dept of Technology Management and Enterprise,
School of Engineering and Technology 
University of Greenwich, London, UK

Language Translator,                                                                         

Feb 2015 – Dec 2017
TED Conferences                                          
Translation and subtitling of videos in Igbo and English Language
 

Co-Founder and Co-Convener,  Igbo Studies Initiative                                                 March 2012 – Present
The Annual International Igbo Conference  in collaboration with                                   SOAS, University of London.
Forum that brings academia and members of the community together for  discussions on Igbo studies.
www.Igboconference.com  
 

Founder, Tutor & Content Creator
Learn Igbo Now                                                             

Feb 2011 - Present
Learn Igbo Now  www.LearnIgboNow.com
Resources for studying Igbo Language & Culture

 

EDUCATION 
 

Urban & Regional Planning (Town Planning)                                  

1993-1997
University of Nigeria                         

BSc (Hons) Digital Media,                                                               

1999-2002
London Metropolitan University
 

PGCHE, Post Graduate Certificate in Higher Education,                                     

2009-2010
University of Greenwich                                                                                                       

MAODE, Masters in eLearning & Instructional Design,                 

2009-2011
Open University UK

PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION 
 

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA),                         

2011
United Kingdom

Visiting Scholar / Research Associate

2021

SOAS, University of London 

PUBLICATIONS 
Books  
Okowaokwu Igbo Umuaka : Igbo Dictionary for Children

Igbo Alphabet Colouring Book: Akwukwo Agba Mkpuruedemede Igbo

Gini ka Osa na-eme? What is Squirrel doing?: An Igbo-English Dual Language Storybook

My Book of Yoruba Words and Pictures

My Book of Igbo Words and Pictures

My Book of Hausa Words and Pictures
Abidii Igbo : The Igbo Alphabet: An Igbo-English Picture Book