AfriSoc Executive Committee 2024-2025
The Oxford University Africa Society (AfriSoc) is an official student club at the University of Oxford. It was founded in the year 1958 and is run entirely by students.The aims of the Society are to build a vibrant and supportive community for African students in Oxford, to provide a platform to discuss African issues, and to bring together people from all backgrounds who share a desire for positive change in Africa. AfOx has a longstanding relationship with AfriSoc that is based on shared foundational values. AfriSoc and AfOx have worked together on outreach and access programmes for prospective African students at Oxford, programmes of academic support for African scholars in Oxford, hosting community-building events as well as events that help to promote the research of African scholars in the University. Find out more about the new AfriSoc Executive Committee below. At AfOx, we look forward to building on this relationship with the new team at AfriSoc.
Maryam Nina Hardy is a dedicated scientist from Ghana, an AfOx Kennedy Trust, Clarendon, and Black Academic Future scholar pursuing a DPhil in Molecular and Cellular Medicine at Exeter College. She is passionate about understanding immune responses to viral infections, focusing on host-viral interactions. Her current research at Oxford analyzes the immunoglobulin repertoire in Hepatitis B, aiming to use antibodies to identify potential drug targets.
Nina’s journey is defined by a commitment to service and building meaningful connections. As a second-year DPhil student, she has organized impactful events such as the 2024 Oxford Africa Conference, and the AfOx/AfriSoc academic essay writing workshop and was . As the Innovation Seed Fund Coordinator for the Oxford Africa Conference, she played a key role in selecting finalists and fostering international collaboration. Nina is also part of the team that launched the mentorship program for the AfOx Kennedy DPhil Studentship and was a member of the AfriSoc mentorship scheme, reflecting her dedication to empowering her peers.
Being elected as President of the Oxford University Africa Society is a profound honor that reflects a shared vision for a more connected and empowered African community. This role represents not just a personal milestone but a call to action to elevate African voices, celebrate collective achievements, and address pressing challenges. With a commitment to fostering collaboration, innovation, and resilience, the focus remains on shaping a brighter future for the African continent and its diaspora.
A current MSc (International Health & Tropical Medicine) at Oxford and a graduate of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Kapil Narain is a youth leader, Rhodes Scholar, One Young World ambassador, and Pan-African activist from Durban, South Africa.
Kapil's passion for servant leadership has driven his involvement in various movements such as being a member of the African Youth Front on Coronavirus, an initiative by African Union and Africa CDC (2020) – a high-level policy and advocacy framework for young people to co-lead Africa's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chairperson of the COVID-19 technical working group at Federation of African Medical Students Associations (2020) and also was on the organising committee for African Healthcare Students Summit (AHESS) in 2019 (this event, freely available, had over 700 participants from 30+ countries.) He also serves as the vice president for Welfare on Graduate common room for Green Templeton College.
Kapil was also an Advisory Board Member, AfroPHC (2022 - 2023) an NGO that advocates for Primary Health Care and Universal Health Coverage and has membership of 635 healthcare workers form 64 countries and was co-chair at a side event for Conference in Public Health in Africa (CPHIA).
Ariana Manduku, an undergraduate entering her fourth year in MEng Materials Science. She has a particular interest in materials for nuclear fusion and liquid lithium corrosion within her field of study.
Her experience includes serving on the Oxford Union committee (MT 22), playing college hockey, and running a monthly African short stories reading and discussion group. Additionally, she is a violinist in an orchestra and has actively participated in numerous formals and other activities during her time here.
Ariana brings valuable organizational and communication skills to the role. She looks forward to disseminating a more creatively laid out weekly newsletter enriched with contributions from society members.
Adewunmi Abdul, an Exploration Seismologist and a third-year DPhil student in the Department of Earth Sciences. She uses simulations from artificially generated waves to monitor leakage and containment of carbon dioxide captured and stored underground, contributing to the fight against global warming.
Adewunmi is honoured to be this year's Treasurer and is committed to managing the society's finances with transparency and accountability. Her main goals include ensuring responsible budgeting and resource allocation, supporting financial inclusivity and accessibility for all members, and fostering a culture of financial discipline and sustainability. Adewunmi trusts that together, we can build a stronger and more prosperous Oxford Africa Society.
Mwangi Mwaura is a Rhodes Scholar currently in his first year of the DPhil in Geography and the Environment. His research interests are in African Urbanism, Infrastructures and Politics, Fast Fashion and the Environment, Knowledge Production and Youth Inclusion and Livelihoods. He has published on these areas in academic and popular media outlets. He also writes fiction and curates book clubs exploring African Literature wherever he resides.
Mwangi has valuable experience in student engagement through curating spaces and forums for students' well-being; social, academic and professional. During his tenure as the Academic Events and Outreach Coordinator for Oxford Refugee Studies Centre’s hub in Nairobi, Refugee Led Research Hub (RLRH), he was instrumental in setting up the social and welfare infrastructure that made the hub active and brought refugees and Kenyans together through in person and online forums. In his first year at Oxford when he was reading for the MSc in Nature, Society and Environmental Governance he volunteered at the Oxford Africa Conference and wrote two pieces for AfriSoc’s inaugural Afrisights magazine that he will be co-editing this year. He is also the Student Engagement Officer at the Africa Oxford Initiative (AfOx).
Kendi Juma is a Lawyer interested in building contextually appropriate sustainable development solutions that factor in the knowledge, practices and evolving culture of communities. She is studying for her MSc in African Studies at the University of Oxford as a member of Corpus Christi College.
Kendi has served as the Community and Events Manager at Shamiri Institute, a mental health
organization in Kenya. She played a key role in the organization’s transition to scale by taking the lead in organizing events such as the Arts and Policy Summit that brought together
government leaders and other stakeholders to discuss collaboration opportunities in the mental health space in Kenya. These forums paved the way for collaboration with the government to scale mental health interventions to over 25,000 youth in 2023.
When she is not working, Kendi loves to write stories that inspire resilience, a growth mindset, and gratitude for children from Africa.