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B M & T November/December 2018 www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 11 OKLAHOMA CITY CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU ANNOUNCES PROMOTIONS The Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) recently announced a promotion in their sales department. Keith Talbert, former associate director of Sales, has been promoted to director of Sales and will serve as the main contact for the CVB's convention sales team, leading the efforts on selling the all- new $288 million convention center expected to open in 2020. Talbert has been with the CVB for a year and a half. Prior to joining the CVB, he worked with Visit Wichita for seven years in sales. FIRST SECRETARY OF TOURISM BRINGS YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AS BOARD MEMBER OF AFRICAN TOURISM BOARD For Zambia, tourism is of top importance. The country has the first vice-chair for the UNWTO Executive Council and now has a new board member on the African Tourism Board. Dr. Ngwira Mabvuto Percy is based at the Zambian Embassy in Paris, France, as the First Secretary of Tourism and Zambia's Liaison Officer to the UNWTO. He is a seasoned public servant, diplomat, and a highly- qualified and experienced tourism professional with more than 15 years of work experience in the tourism field and more than 5 years in diplomatic and international relations. His professional experience and career devel- opment are both at the local and international levels. He joins the African Tourism Board in private capacity. Founded in 2018 as a project of the International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP) , the African Tourism Board is an association that is internationally acclaimed for acting as a catalyst for the responsible develop- ment of travel and tourism to and from the African region. In his professional and career life over the years, Dr. Ngwira has been a professional tourism practitioner, diplomat, consultant, lecturer, and key advisor to tourism ministers and other senior government officials on tourism issues, international relations, diplomacy, and UNWTO matters. An academician with published scholarly works to his name, Dr. Ngwira holds a PhD in Tourism Management (Spain), an MA in Diplomatic Studies (United Kingdom), an MSc. in International Rural Development with specialization in Tourism Management (United Kingdom), a BA in Hotel, Tourism and Catering Management (Hong Kong SAR, China), and a Diploma in Hotel and Tourism Management (Zambia). As a public servant and diplomat, Dr. Ngwira's vision is to advocate for the development and implementation of policies aimed at fos- tering sustainable development that contributes to the overall social-economic emancipation at local and international levels in Zambia and other parts of the world. Being a tourism professional, Dr. Ngwira believes that tourism is an important driver of socioeconomic growth and development, with significant impact on poverty alleviation, revenue generation, job creation, investment, infrastructure development, and the promotion of social cohesion. He believes that tourism has the power to stimulate and make a meaningful contribution to the overall development in the world. The African Tourism Board provides aligned advocacy, insightful research, and innovative events to its members. In partnership with private and public sector members, ATB enhances the sustainable growth, value, and quality of travel and tourism to, from, and within Africa. The association provides leadership and counsel on an individual and collective basis to its member organizations and is expanding on opportunities for marketing, public relations, investments, branding, promoting, and establishing niche markets. The ATB is currently involved in tourism security and wellness summit in member countries, PR and marketing, media outreach, trade show participation, road shows, webinars, and MICE Africa.