Founder and director of Djembe World, Doug Manuel dedicates his life to building bridges between Africa and the West. His love for Africa was born when he attended a djembe workshop in 1995. This was consolidated when he worked on a documentary about African elephants. He left his career at the BBC in 1997 and spent two years in West Africa studying the music and history of the djembe. In 2000, he founded Sewa Beats International. Based on the rhythms of the djembe, he has developed a broad range of team-building and leadership development programs which he facilitates in multinationals, sports teams, leading business schools and NGOs around the globe. He also leads his foundation, Lighting Up Lives, an initiative that fosters responsible autonomy in Africa. Built on the pillars of health, cultural exchange, employment, education and solar energy, the pilot village is Abéné, a rural village in Senegal, West Africa.