Young people from Africa and the UK wowed audiences in Botswana with their vocal skills at the closing festival and regional final programme, Power in the Voice held between 14 - 16 August 2008.

The three year programme set out to enable young people in Southern Africa and the UK to find their voices and express themselves under the expert guidance of international performance poets, rap artists and storytellers.

They took part in workshops and various activities, learning to create, collaborate and communicate with each other over three days. Each evening gave them the opportunity to perform live alongside renowned poets, rap artists and storytellers from the Southern Africa region and the UK. At the grand finale on the 16 August 2008 they performed to an audience of 900 people at Gaborone International Convention Centre.

The Power in the Voice international festival featured a three day public voice fair with many stalls, numerous live performances and open-mic stages for new and established performers to showcase their talent in poetry, rap and storytelling.

The winning groups performing at the festival have been mentored by spoken word artists from Africa and the UK and have learnt how to devise, craft, edit and perform poetry through a series of workshops taking place over the three year programme.

Since its launch in Mozambique in 2005, the project has involved more than 3,300 schoolchildren and reached more than 25 million people across the countries involved.