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How does an organization or city best prepare for visiting dignitaries?  In this case, the Office of Protocol at the International Center of Indianapolis provided complete protocol services for the visit of His Royal Majesty Oba (King) Michael Aremu Gbadebo of Nigeria to the city for the 1st Public Scholars in Africana Studies International Conference at IUPUI.

HRM Oba (King) Michael Aremu Gbadebo of Nigeria and a ten-member delegation visited Indianapolis October 28 – October 31 for the conference.  He is Chairman of Global Haulage Resources Limited (GHRL), a logistics solutions company in Nigeria and the paramount traditional ruler of Egbaland in Ogun State, Nigeria.

In addition to participating in the Public Scholars conference at IUPUI -- whose theme was “Rethinking Economic Development in the Context of Globalization: Entrepreneurship, the Knowledge Economy, and Sustainable Development” -- the Oba met with local leaders during his stay.

The protocol entailed weeks of preparation, culminating in a minute-to-minute itinerary of the Oba’s visit from Wednesday, October 28, to Saturday, October 31.  From transportation to seating charts to gift and meeting preparations, all of these details were arranged by the International Center’s Office of Protocol Sponsored by Duke Energy.  Previous Office of Protocol projects have included conducting orientation for an international conference for the IU School of Medicine and hosting the Ambassador of Kenya to the United States.