In an age bereft of Arthurian heroes and chivalry, Sylvain Boko, an assistant professor of economics, assumes the role of a modern knight. In a ceremony held July 26 in Cotonou, Benin, Boko was named a Knight of the National Order of Benin.

Boko was awarded the medal, the country's highest honor, for his service and commitment to the rural communities of Benin as well as his avid commitment to raising knowledge of Benin through programs in the states. The ceremony, overseen by Benin's president, provided an exclusive opportunity to recognize Benin support abroad, honoring the international work of Boko as well as six other individuals.

In addition to his assistance to the communities of Benin, Boko also wrote a book entitled Decentralization and Reform in Africa. An analysis of Benin and three other African countries, the book explored the efficiency of Benin's use of resources as well as the country's struggle toward a realized democracy.

"A lot of the countries are saying they are democratic but the government is still making the decisions. Democracy is not complete until you have decentralization," Boko said. "I think if a chance is given to local communities to take power into their own hands and decide how to use their resources, I think that their development will have a better chance."

Currently, Boko heads a five-week study abroad program to Benin in which student directly interact with African communities. Through these student courses, Boko hopes to increase international awareness of African rural communities by offering further internships and student exchange programs.

"You're exposing the country to people who might be in decision-making power or they might be in a position to make investments and having learned about the country, they will be more sensitive to what's going on there," Boko said.

The last student trip to Benin occurred this summer from May 26 to July 1. In addition to attending classes, students implemented Project Bokonon, a medical program initiated by students who traveled to Benin the previous year.

"For Project Bokonon, we spent time going to the different hospitals and gathering medicines, separating them into bags, and going around and giving them to the different hospitals." said senior Scott Stilmar, who went on the trip this summer. "It really was an amazing experience. You don't have too many opportunities to go with a professor from their own country, especially someone like Dr. Boko."

Boko also organized a faculty trip to Benin this past summer in which an agreement was signed with Songhai, the National Business School of Benin. Songhai's central goal is to instill a high level of productivity and agricultural awareness within the poorer population of Benin.

"We're going to focus our attention on entrepreneurship, how to form young entrepreneurs that are coming out of the business school but at the same time getting the practical experience at Songhai," Boko said. "Wake Forest will be able to facilitate this interaction and be able to put its resources toward technology."