Power in the Voice is a British Council Project with volume. This three-year programme, which recently came to an end, was designed to celebrate people finding their voices and expressing themselves. It tapped into the wealth of oral and performance traditions, the rhythms, the sounds and the messages of speech and song.

During the programme, performance poets, rap artists and storytellers worked with schools and youth groups throughout Southern Africa and the UK to explore their lyrical, vocal and soulful talents. Power in the Voice provided lots of opportunities for people to learn new skills in performance poetry, storytelling, rap and a variety of related arts, through a series of competitions, collaborative workshops, exhibitions and talks.

Professional artists worked with schools and youth groups, preparing them for the various Power in the Voice competitions.

After 3 glorious years of success and creative exploration, Power in the Voice culminated in a Southern African regional final in Botswana from 14-16 August 2008. The 3 day event at the Gaborone International Convention Centre saw contestants creating, collaborating and communicating with each other in workshops during the day and being spellbound by world-famous story-tellers, rap artists and poets from Africa and the UK. Throughout the 3 days, there was a Voice Fair, live performances and an open-mic stage where any poet, rapper or storyteller could strut their stuff. It was a scintillating end to a wonderful programme.

Countries that took part are Botswana, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, the UK, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Winners of the finals from each of these countries battled it out with tales, words thrown down to a beat and with rhyming couplets in their arsenal. See the video clips.

Visit the official Power in the Voice website to learn more about the background of the programme and to read about the professionals that mentored contestants.