UVA Wraps up Freedom Vibes Academy Mentorship
Unchained Vibes Africa (UVA) on Wednesday 17th January 2024 hosted the final session of the mentorship phase of the Freedom Vibes Academy. It was organized as a hybrid event with in-person participation by the mentor and UVA team from the UVA Gallery in Lagos while 20 attendees, comprising the current Academy participants and 5 alumni joined virtually.
The event commenced at 12.00noon with a welcome address by the UVA Research and Advocacy Manager Sola Alamutu (a.k.a. The Green Queen). This was followed by opening remarks from UVA Executive Producer Ayodele Ganiu who formally introduced the mentor Olajumoke Alawode-James. Prior to the mentor’s opening address, a video was screened to give participants some valuable insights into her career trajectory and as a case study on best practices to inspire them. The video clips, compiled by UVA production team, presented a mentor whose works have distinguished her as a brilliant broadcaster, accomplished event producer, showbiz entrepreneur and a true advocate who has used her voice and platforms very strongly and consistently to advocate for good governance in Nigeria.
In her address, the mentor shared her personal stories, knowledge and experiences, including some of her ongoing advocacy works. Participants had a very engaging, intellectually packed and memorable experience. They drew inspirations from the mentor’s use of language and messaging in her advocacy. Participants also learnt from the lessons shared on the need to understand and remain focused on their target audiences when leveraging the power of the arts for advocacy.
The event ended at 2.00pm with closing remarks and announcements by the UVA Programs Manager Samuel Osaze.
The mentoring sessions were a key component of the Freedom Vibes Academy, a one-year program aimed at training and strengthening the advocacy capabilities of young socially conscious artists and cultural activists to promote freedom of expression and democracy in Nigeria. Freedom Vibes Academy builds on the achievements of the pilot Democracy Vibes Workshop organized in 2021.
