Talent Into Action: How Young Voices of Africa is Reclaiming the Narrative Through Storytelling and Legacy

Talent into Action project poster

In a world where African stories are often told from the outside looking in, Young Voices of Africa (YVA) is flipping the script. Through the Talent into Action project, our youth are not just sharing stories; they are reclaiming history, healing wounds, and inspiring change.

This isn’t just about performance. It’s about power. It’s about ownership. It’s about young people daring to take hold of their cultural heritage and shape it into tools for transformation.

Now in its third and final year, Talent into Action, facilitated by YVA President and CEO Kelvin Akpaloo, coordinated by Creativity & Change, and proudly supported by Irish Aid, has grown into a vibrant platform where youth creativity meets activism.

In Year 2, our ambassadors from Sierra Leone and the diaspora in Ireland created something extraordinary: an audio drama titled Mires of an African Woman. This powerful piece brought to life the legacy of Madam Ella Koblo-Gulama, the first female cabinet minister in sub-Saharan Africa and a revered Sierra Leonean traditional leader. Her story, told by youth in their own voice, became a rallying cry for YVA African Youth Goal 4: Female Empowerment. It reminded us all that our foremothers paved the way and that their courage still echoes today.

But the vision didn’t stop there.

In Year 3, despite financial setbacks that prevented an international youth exchange, YVA adapted with creativity and resilience. In Sierra Leone, our young ambassadors developed a powerful new initiative: The Blood Diamond Project, a youth-led documentary and theater campaign that confronts the devastating legacy of Sierra Leone’s civil war. Survivors in the Amputee and War-Wounded Camp in Panlap-Makeni finally had their voices heard not as victims, but as beacons of strength.

This project, led by Kelvin Akpaloo, Vice-President Alhassan Kallon, Fatima Ismail, President of our Women’s Forum, and our diaspora ambassadors, proved that when youth lead, the truth speaks loudest.

In Ireland, youth from the Talent into Action group and YVA Ireland took the stories created by our Sierra Leonean ambassadors and transformed them into a theatrical performance, one that was showcased on Africa Day in Ireland. It was a performance that moved hearts, challenged minds, and bridged continents through art, empathy, and truth.

Talent into Action has been a journey of discovery, not only about the past but also about the power that lies within young people today. Their voices, once silenced or sidelined, are now center stage. They are telling stories that matter. Stories that heal. Stories that ignite action.

At Young Voices of Africa, we believe every young person has a story, a talent, and a vision that can reshape the world. And with the right support, they don’t just speak; they create movements.

This is what Talent into Action is about.

Not charity. Not performance. But power. Purpose. And possibility.

And this is only the beginning.