Muthoni Ndonga aka Muthoni the Drummer Queen is the only Kenyan that has been selected to join the 2019 TED Fellow Program.
She is among 20 people selected from around the world to take part in the program in Vancouver, BC, Canada in April, 2019.
This years program is themed on looking for new ways to collaborate and address today’s most complex challenges.
The artist was chosen due to her work in developing the cultural landscape in East Africa through her barrier-breaking, genre-bending music, as well as her game-changing music festivals Blankets and Wine and Africa Nouveau.
In a post on Twitter, Muthoni expressed her delight on securing the selection.
“I am very excited to be selected as a TED Fellow, and to join a global community of thought leaders and doers. After 10 years in music and culture, and based on research and data, it is clear that the creative sector is a legitimate manufacturing industry in Kenya, and Africa," she stated.
TED’s Fellow director Shoham Arad also expressed his delight at the newest class.
"We are thrilled to announce the newest class of TED Fellows, who give voice to some of the most exciting ideas we’ve seen in the programs 10-year history," he commented.
The program, which was founded in 2009 has 472 fellows from 96 Countries, whose talks have been viewed more than 250 million times overall.
TED Fellows program has created a powerful network of scientists, doctors, activists, journalists, inventors and entrepreneurs among others.
Some of other notable Africans that have been named as TED Fellows in the past include Kenya’s afrofusion artist Blinky Bill and renowned photographer Mutua Matheka.
