Brooklyn designer Amira-Dior Traynham-Artis and Ethiopian television host Mr. Zik front a campaign supporting 4 Future Generations and its From the Park to the Pros basketball initiative.
BRONX, New York, October 2026: A billboard on the Grand Concourse at Fordham Road introduces “From New York to Ethiopia”, a cross-border campaign connecting young people through basketball, entrepreneurship, leadership development, and cultural exchange.
Located above Crave Deli & Grill in the Bronx, the billboard features Amira-Dior Traynham-Artis, the Brooklyn-born founder of footwear label LANE1, alongside Ethiopian television host Zewotir Desalegn Alemu, known as Mr. Zik.
The campaign highlights the Brooklyn-based 4 Future Generations Entrepreneurship and Leadership Foundation and its basketball initiative, From the Park to the Pros. The foundation’s programmes serve young people aged 10 to 24, combining education, mentorship, entrepreneurship, and international exchange opportunities.
The billboard is expected to remain on display through the end of 2026 and into early 2027, with no fixed removal date. It marks the campaign’s public launch, while planned activities in Ethiopia will bring its youth engagement programme into a new setting.
A Bronx billboard introduces ‘From New York to Ethiopia’, a campaign led by LANE1 founder Amira-Dior Traynham-Artis and Ethiopian host Mr Zik that connects young people through sport, fashion, and entrepreneurship.
From a Brooklyn Court to a Wider World
For 4 Future Generations founder Kenesha Traynham-Cooper, the campaign connects young people’s ambitions in New York with opportunities to learn beyond their immediate surroundings.
“Brooklyn has never been short on talent, ambition or young people with extraordinary potential. What our young people need are pathways that match that potential,” said Traynham-Cooper.
“From the Park to the Pros is about taking the lessons learned on our neighbourhood courts and connecting them to education, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, leadership and opportunity.”
The foundation describes From the Park to the Pros as its flagship basketball initiative, offering coaching, academic support and mentorship from former professional athletes. Its wider programmes include business education, leadership development, workforce preparation and cultural exchange.
The campaign brings those strands together. Basketball provides one point of connection, while creative practice and entrepreneurship introduce other ways for young people to explore their interests, develop skills and meet people working in different fields.
Amira-Dior Brings LANE1 and Her Entrepreneurial Journey
Traynham-Artis, 17, is one of the campaign’s two public faces. She began designing footwear at home in Brooklyn at 12 and launched LANE1 at 14, developing a label built around individual expression.
Her involvement in “From New York to Ethiopia” includes a planned visit to Ethiopia, where she will engage with young people through workshops and a fashion show within the campaign’s youth programme.
LANE1 is her own company, rather than a separate sponsor accompanying the project. Through the label, she will bring her creativity, craft and experience of starting a business to the young people she meets.
Her participation is intended as a way to give back: sharing her journey from an early creative interest to designing products and building a brand.
The workshops and fashion presentation will provide a setting for that exchange. The foundation team will supply confirmed dates, venues, local partners and participation arrangements.
LANE1: Footwear as Personal Expression
LANE1 makes limited-edition footwear designed by Traynham-Artis and produced to order. The company says its shoes are handmade by leather artisans in Italy’s Le Marche region. (Earlier ABC7 New York coverage of the label describes made-to-order pairs produced in Italy.)
The label’s current offering includes the Fashion Strap Hi-Top and the permanent “Be A Walk Of Art!” collection. Its website describes the brand as a “walk of expression”, summarised by the phrase “speak without saying something”.
That idea places footwear in a wider conversation about identity: what a person chooses to wear can communicate something about them without needing explanation.
The company says its made-to-order model results in almost no deadstock, rather than relying on large quantities of finished footwear produced ahead of demand. The company makes these claims; a guide to verifying a fashion brand’s fabric claims explains how to test them.
In Ethiopia, Traynham-Artis’s contribution will centre on this combination of design and entrepreneurship. Her experience offers a practical starting point for conversations about developing an idea, expressing a point of view and taking the first steps towards a business.
Further information about the label and its collections is available at lane1fashion.com.
Mr. Zik Connects the Campaign With Ethiopian Audiences
Appearing alongside Traynham-Artis, Mr. Zik brings his experience as an Ethiopian television host and interviewer to the campaign.
His broadcasting work includes Wured Enwured on Art TV and the Addis Pulse interview series on Arts Plus, following earlier programming on EBS.
The partnership places a young American entrepreneur and an Ethiopian media figure within the same campaign, giving “From New York to Ethiopia” recognisable representatives on both sides of the exchange.
Their involvement reflects the programme’s aim to connect young people through multiple interests rather than a single professional path. Sport, media, fashion and entrepreneurship form different entry points into a shared programme of learning and dialogue.
Coordinating the Exchange in Ethiopia
Shawn W. Roseburgh, internationally known as The Black Traveller and identified by the foundation as its executive director, is coordinating the campaign’s international components on the ground in Ethiopia.
His role includes connecting organisations, media, mentors and young people across borders. The foundation lists Global Exchanges via The Black Traveller among its programmes, describing it as an initiative that connects participants through travel, service, and cultural exchange.
“This is what global connection is supposed to look like,” said Roseburgh. “I am an American standing here in Ethiopia helping connect people, resources and opportunities from New York to a generation thousands of miles away.”
He added: “When a young person in Brooklyn can see possibility in Ethiopia, and a young person in Ethiopia can see possibility in New York, the world suddenly becomes much bigger for both of them. That is the bridge we are building.”
The billboard provides visibility, but the programme’s next stage depends on participation and coordination. The foundation will confirm local arrangements as activities are finalised.
How Young People Can Take Part
The foundation’s programmes serve young people aged 10 to 24. Families, prospective participants, schools and community organisations seeking information should contact the foundation directly.
For questions about eligibility, costs, travel requirements, dates, and Ethiopian partner organisations, contact founder Kenesha Traynham-Cooper at ktcooper@4futuregenerations.com.
Programme information is available at 4fgfoundation.org. Readers wishing to support young people’s travel to Ethiopia can also donate through the foundation’s website.
Please direct participation enquiries and donations to the foundation, rather than treating them as confirmed registration for a particular trip or activity.
Photography and Interview Opportunities
Emerge Globally is coordinating media enquiries and interview requests concerning the campaign.
Interviews are available by arrangement with Traynham-Artis, with a parent or guardian present; Mr. Zik; Traynham-Cooper; and Roseburgh.
Supplied photographs include the Bronx billboard, two images of LANE1 footwear and Traynham-Artis at UN MSMEs Day 2026 at United Nations Headquarters in New York. The stated credit for these four images is Kenesha Traynham-Cooper.
Omiren Styles has permission to reproduce the supplied images, with the stated credits, in its coverage of Traynham-Artis, LANE1 and the campaign. Other publishers should confirm reproduction permissions with the press office.
About 4 Future Generations
4 Future Generations Entrepreneurship and Leadership Foundation is a Brooklyn-based nonprofit serving young people through education, mentorship, entrepreneurship and international opportunities.
Its programme areas include academic readiness, leadership, financial literacy, workforce pathways, and cultural exchange, as well as athletics through From the Park to the Pros.
About Emerge Globally
Emerge Globally, a company owned by Casa Noir LLC, develops and positions talent across media, entertainment, music, fashion, digital platforms, brand partnerships and international campaigns. Its activities include opportunities in commercial and editorial work, events, productions and fashion presentations.
Press Contact
EMERGE GLOBALLY
International Press Office
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Press: press@emergeglobally.com
Telephone and WhatsApp: +1 347 387 8843
Press Telegram: @EmergeInternational
Bookings: bookings@emergeglobally.com
General enquiries: info@emergeglobally.com
Foundation and Participation Contact
Kenesha Traynham-Cooper
Founder, 4 Future Generations Entrepreneurship and Leadership Foundation
Email: ktcooper@4futuregenerations.com
Telephone: +1 929 304 5000
Website: 4fgfoundation.org
Brooklyn, New York
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