Funmi Iyanda

I was startled when a fellow from India said to me that after reading the CV of the fellows from around the world and America and absorbing the quality of the on going conversations, she cant help wondering what the heck she is doing here. Startling because in comparison to her and all the others l am wondering what the heck l am doing here.That is the beauty of this convocation of all the classes of Henry Crown fellows and the classes of the leadership initiative fellows from all over the world. The amount of brainpower, accomplishment, human values and the potential for moving from success to significance in each plenary session is overwhelming. No matter how well you might
be doing, measurable less in terms of career success but in terms of influence on the development and growth of the good society in your own space or sphere you feel challenged to do even more. Here your core human values and intellectual abilities are stroked, toned, honed and challenged to greater endeavour. It is all the brainchild of one incredible human being called Keith Berwick (more on Keith and his wife Sheena later). The past few days have been challenging but rewarding for me as l struggle with jet lag, dehydration, home sickness (l want eba and okro, my daughter, my friends) and engage with some of the brightest minds around the world on diverse issues. I have concentrated on the challenge of delivering access, equity and quality in education to all as well as examining how business can help to create opportunities for the majority poor. I shall share thought on this in subsequent posts. One of my favourite sessions here was the afternoon chat with professor Wole Soyinka. I sat there blushing with pride as he spoke and engaged the audience. I even managed to stand up and ask what many of the other fellows have described as brave, hard but important questions. I am equally honoured and humbled to be here and I feel that in many ways the universe prepares me as she does us all to be so much more.