Unchained Vibes Africa (UVA) is providing opportunity for young artists in Nigeria to develop their crafts as agents of positive change. Through a virtual workshop tagged ‘Democracy Vibes,’ UV Africa will take 14 artists and activists on a journey of career development. The overall objective of the workshop is to strengthen their advocacy capabilities to promote democracy and freedom of expression. The successful candidates were selected through a rigorous and competitive open call for applications.
The artists will benefit from training, mentoring and access to cultural exchanges that build important foundation for local, regional and international collaborations. The workshop’s facilitators are world-class professionals and celebrities in the field of music, film, theatre, human rights, international law, cultural diplomacy and journalism.
The three-day workshop which begins on Monday, September 27, 2021 will feature Nigerian hip-hop veteran and social crusader Eedris Abdulkareem, veteran musician and activist Ade Bantu, award-winning actor, educator and activist Hilda Dokubo, veteran journalist and culture advocate Jahman Anikulapo and Joseph Bikanda, Coordinator of the pan-African human rights defenders network, AfricanDefenders. Other facilitators include Julie Trebault, Director of PEN America’s Artists at Risk Connection and Oludayo Fagbemi,
Senior Legal Officer for Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA), Kaduna-based award-winning theatre practitioner, Olabode Moses, as well as performing artist, hip hop activist and faculty member at Columbia College, Chicago, Amina Norman-Hawkins.
The workshop is an integral part of “Defending Democracy Vibes” a program funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in the United States and supported by AfricanDefenders (the Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network), PEN America’s Artists at Risk Connection, Centre for Creative Arts Education (CREATE) and Culture Advocates Caucus(CAC).
Unchained Vibes Africa (UVA) is a newly established social and cultural enterprise with the mission to leverage the power of the arts to promote civic education, good governance, human rights, cultural diversity and the spirit of solidarity in Africa.
