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ā€œto help ensure that those dedicating their lives to the pursuit of enhanced public knowledge, especially in the service of underrepresented peoples, have the means to do so to the best of their abilitiesā€

The Trust in Public Knowledge

Introduction

The Trust in Contributions to Public Knowledge was established to help ensure that those dedicating their careers and lives to the pursuit of enhanced public knowledge, especially in the service of often marginalized and underrepresented peoples, have the means to do so to the best of their abilities.

Conditions for Intellectual Work and Discussion

The Trust is acutely aware of the often difficult conditions for intellectual work and public discussion in Africa and much of its global diasporas, as well as the comparatively inadequate support for institutions that are essential to facilitating such activity.

Histories of Knowledge Production

These conditions are often as linked to global histories of knowledge production as they are to present economic, political and cultural impediments to the revealing study and discussion of Africa, its diasporas, the nature of global relationships between states and communities, and the detailed existence of the worldā€™s most regularly marginalized and disenfranchised peoples.

Improving Shared Knowledge

The Trust is therefore especially attuned to the place, function, and status of studying certain regions, problems, and questions in service of the public interest, with a central mission to improve the range, rigor, depth, and quality of future contributions to local and global knowledge. Knowledge to be shared by and remain of benefit to the widest range of peoples and societies.

View from Below of Bridge Cables
Lekki Ikoyi Bridge, Lagos, Nigeria, February 2019 (Babatunde Olajide)

The Trustā€™s Finances

Introduction

The Trust in Contributions to Public Knowledge was established as part of the Declaration of Trust of the Chinyere and Chinelo Ikoku Charitable Trusts. It is therefore subject to the general fiduciary responsibilities outlined in the founding Declaration.

Annual Spending

These responsibilities include stipulations that limit appropriated spending in any given year to no more than 5% of the three-year average market value of the Trustā€™s current principal.

Appropriated Spending I

The Declaration also stipulates that no less than half of such annual spending be dedicated to work on continental Africa.

Appropriated Spending II

It is also expected that such annual spending be overwhelmingly dedicated (greater than 75%) to being of direct benefit to low-income communities and individuals.

To Fund in Perpetuity

Such stipulations are in line with best practices to ensure that the Trust continues to exist in perpetuity and that it continues to have assets to carry out its charitable purposes during that time.

Reports: In Charts and Numbers

Reports: In Charts and Numbers

Child Looking Up Among Adult Celebrants
Child at Ceremony, Ikorodu, Nigeria, 2016 (Oshomah Abubakar)
Boy Smiling While Showing Hand String Game
Boy Playing Hand Game, 2017 (Alexander Radelich)
Child in Costume Looking at Camera
NiƱo, Cusco, Peru, 2018 (Ben Ostrower)
Tatooed Map on Outstretched Arm
Map on Arm, Dayton, US, 2017 (Don Ross III)
Woman with Arm on Head, Smiling
Woman in Joy, Kolkota, India, 2017 (Loren Joseph)
Boy Among Chidlren in Class, Looking at Camera
Children in Classroom, Nakasaki District, Kampala, Uganda, 2017 (Bill Wegener)
Woman Seated on Mat on Floor, Holding Fan
Seated, Kpone Katamanso District Assembly Office, Tema, Ghana, 2017 (Nathaniel Tetteh)
Girl Kneeling in Busy Street
Tibetan Girl, 2017 (Journey Yang)

The Trustā€™s Works

Introduction

Provided below is access to further information regarding good works conceived and funded under the rubric of this Trust. Note that the operations of said projects are typically the purview of The Ikoku Foundations, and so the links will often guide you to their sites.

The Virtual Dais for Academic and Intellectual Sessions (DAIS)

The Database on Public Knowledge

The Distribution in Public Knowledge

The Report on Public Knowledge

The Report on Public Knowledge

The Fellowship in Public Knowledge

The Fellowship in Public Knowledge

The Grant in Public Knowledge

The Grant in Public Knowledge

The Newsletter on Public Knowledge

The Newsletter on Public Knowledge

Woman Bending Down to Tend Crops
Sierra Leone, 2017 (Annie Spratt)
Child in Costume Looking at Camera
NiƱo, Cusco, Peru, 2018 (Ben Ostrower)
Woman Seated on Mat on Floor, Holding Fan
Seated, Kpone Katamanso District Assembly Office, Tema, Ghana, 2017 (Nathaniel Tetteh)
People Holding Peace Banner and Respect Sign
Women's March, Boston, USA, 2017, (Alice Donovan Rouse)

Also at The Trusts

As stated earlier, The Ikoku Charitable Trusts is dedicated to fostering philanthropy and good works concerning Africa, its global diasporas and a range of shared societies ā€” toward the betterment of lives across the globe. And so in accordance with the above, The Trusts provides the following:

I.

A Nonprofit Dedicated to Africa

An independent, private, non-profit organization that serves the public interest in Africa and its global diasporas ā€” by advancing education and research and by also supporting creative ideas, civic endeavors and emerging communities, organizations and societies.

II.

Support for a Global and Just Future

A founding mission and ongoing emphases of support for good works that help the public understand Africaā€™s essential place in a global future, one that is to be more knowledgeable, environmentally sustainable, equitable and of benefit across communities in just societies.

III.

A Vision of the Public Good

A vision of the public good that accounts for the past while ensuring a just and shared future. That draws inspiration from peoples who, despite a history of systemic difficulties, maintain an unyielding belief that the betterment of their human condition will foster the betterment of those living around them and will enhance the present and futures of the regularly disenfranchised, marginalized and underserved.

More About Us

The Ikoku Trusts

About Us ā€¢ Governance ā€¢ Policies