New stories about indigenous wisdom - A Conversation with Wakanyi Hoffman

Wakanyi Hoffman is a storyteller, author, keynote speaker
specialized in ubuntu philosophy, a scholar of indigenous
knowledge, and narrative weaver of wisdom in AI. She was born and
raised in Kenya before embarking on an adventure around the world
and has so far lived in 8 countries on 4 continents. 


In response to the limited presence of African stories by African
storytellers in children’s literature, Wakanyi founded
the African Folktales Project, an ongoing open-sourced
resource of indigenous wisdom and knowledge for school children.
Her diverse intercultural experiences have enriched her
perspective on the human condition, while her commitment to
cross-cultural knowledge sharing brings added value to her
current academic fellowship appointment at The New Institute in
Hamburg, Germany. 


She is the author of many stories including Sala: Mountain
Warrior (2024) and The Twelve Days of Christmas Safari.


Wakanyi sits on many boards, such as the Kenya Education
Fund, an organization dedicated to offering high school education
to marginalized, gifted children. Additionally, her advisory role
at The Contentment  Foundation underscores her
dedication to global well-being. She is also a valued board
member at Seeds of Wisdom, championing indigenous elders’
wisdom and knowledge exchange and is also a co-founder
of HumanityLink.Org, a global digital communication
solutions system for marginalized populations. Wakanyi is a
curation partner on the Compassion Bot, a new AI revolution
in conversations with compassion.  


Wakanyi is a graduate of University College London (UCL), where
her thesis proposed integrating indigenous knowledge into global
education systems. She also teaches a summer course at Brooklyn
College, and her storytelling Curriculum is used at Presidio
Graduate School for teachers training as climate advocates. 


Wakanyi is also a mother to four global nomad kids and together
with her husband, they currently reside in The Netherlands. 


Social Links


Website: https://www.wakanyihoffman.com/


LinkedIn: @wakanyi-hoffman -
https://www.linkedin.com/in/wakanyi-hoffman-77a9671a4/


Instagram: @waksnl - https://www.instagram.com/waksnl/