Young people from Africa and the UK wowed audiences in Botswana with their vocal skills at the closing festival and regional final of our three-year programme, Power in the Voice.

The 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.

London pupils reach finals
A group of pupils from a London school represented the UK at the final, which ran from 14-16 August. The group of five boys from St Aloysius school in North London, beat stiff competition from schools across the capital at a final held earlier this year.

They joined winning teams from across Africa at the Gaborone International Convention Centre in Botswana to demonstrate their skills in poetry, rap and storytelling to an audience of over 850 people.

The festival also featured artists from the UK and Africa, including Lemn Sissay, Urban Playground by Prodigal Theatre and voice-themed collaborations between local storytellers and dancers.

The five pupils from St Aloysius College won their place with their performance on the subject of fatherhood, a poignant subject in a school where many pupils come from single-parent families.

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

Mentoring experience
The groups 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. Says South Africa participant, Lebogang Kganye: ‘Our mentors taught us how to perform with confidence, interact with the audience and write better poems. The truth is you cannot work alone to get something great. We explored different ideas from different people, different countries and different cultures.’

Mentor Rasina, aka Abro, said of the experience: ‘Having met other mentors in the UK and meeting them again here back home in Botswana was not only proof of a long lasting relationship with the UK and Southern Africa, but also an opportunity to positively shine and showcase my art form in the comfort of my country.’

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.

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

This news story is also published on our Literature pages.