What happens when creativity meets communication, and both are driven by a desire to create social impact? You get a professional like our Woman Crush Wednesday, Edel Sakwa.
With two decades of experience spanning strategic communications, digital marketing, visual communications, publications, science communications and policy engagement, Edel has built an impressive career around one powerful skill: making ideas easier to understand, engage with and remember.
Over the years, she has developed communication strategies and visual communication materials for both print and digital platforms. She has also curated high-level events and international commemorations, as well as managed numerous teams and coordinated multiple projects.
Edel currently leads the Communications and Policy Engagement Department at the African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP), where she brings together her creative and strategic expertise to communicate research and policy to diverse audiences. Her work is particularly interesting because it sits at the intersection of communication and science. By translating complex research and policy into accessible content, she helps audiences connect with important ideas that might otherwise feel too technical, thereby spurring them to act.
Before joining AFIDEP, she founded RealOne Concepts Ltd, a graphic design and communications agency. Her career has also seen her take on several roles, including Social Media and Events Manager at Sparkplug Women of Influence Forum, Production Manager and Graphic Design Studio Manager at Oakland Media Services Ltd, and Graphic Design and Editorial Coordinator at Media7 Group.
Her academic background reflects the creative and strategic dimensions of her career. Edel holds an MA in Communication for Development from United States International University – Africa and a BA in Journalism and Media Studies, with a major in Public Relations from the University of Nairobi. She also holds a Diploma in Fine Arts, with a major in Graphic Design, from the Buru Buru Institute of Fine Arts, as well as a Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing from Simon Page College of Marketing/Digital Marketing Institute. Her professional development also includes certificates in Engaging the Media, People Management, and Reputation Management.
For Edel, however, communication is more than creating attractive content or sharing information. The goal is for communications to have social impact, where effective storytelling engenders positive transformation in all areas of life. Her career is a reminder that communication is a powerful tool. A good communicator does not simply pass on information. She finds the story within the information, understands her audience, and creates a bridge between knowledge and people.
Away from her busy professional life, Edel enjoys interior design and decor. She also spends some of her free time volunteering in family life programmes at her church, showing another side of a woman whose work is centred on people, creativity and connection.
This Woman Crush Wednesday, Pride Magazine Nigeria celebrates Edel Sakwa for building a career where creativity, communication and purpose come together.