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ā€œto teach so that you and others may learn, and to do research so that you and others may come to knowā€

Originating Trust in Education and Research

Overview

The Originating Trust in Education and Research was established by Alvan Azinna Chibuzo Ikoku to honor his parents, Professor Chinyere and Dr (Mrs) Chinelo Ikoku, with an endowment partially derived from their lifelong work obtaining educations, teaching students, and conducting research in university, public and private spheres.

Spanning Continents and Decades

Their work spanned three continents and over six decades. Primary through university education in Southern and Northern Nigeria. Graduate education and university teaching in the United States. Training and consultancy in Europe. Then a move back to Nigeria, at the request of the countryā€™s Vice President, with the task of establishing and teaching in the earliest departments of engineering and finance, at the University of Port Harcourt, where they developed a generation of Nigerians to become highly trained in their respective fields.

An Enduring Source of Inspiration

Prof and Dr Ikokuā€™s work continues to serve as a source of inspiration for their communities of former students and three surviving children. But it also represents a wider history of teaching, research, and transformative work by peoples of varied African descent, who have substantively contributed to the material, cultural, and intellectual conditions of modern life in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe.

A Galvinizing Mission

The Originating Trust in Education and Research is thus dedicated to carrying out a central and galvanizing mission for recipients of support from The Ikoku Charitable Trusts and The Ikoku Foundations ā€” namely to teach so that they and others may learn, and to do research so that they and others may come to know; in settings and on subjects pertaining to Africa and its global diasporas, as well as to the most regularly underserved, underrepresented, marginalized, stigmatized, andĀ disenfranchised of the worldā€™s communities.

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

The Trustā€™s Finances

Overview

The Originating Trust in Education and Research 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

Overview

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 Database on Education and Research

The Distribution in Education and Research

The Core | Curriculum

The Core | Papers

The Core | Courses

The Core | Seminars

The Concentrations

The Report on Funding for Education and Research

The Report on Funding for Education and Research

The Fellowship in Education and Research

The Fellowship in Education and Research

The Grant in Education and Research

The Grant in Education and Research

The Ikoku Newsletter on Education and Research

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