LocationsThree winners of the Creatives4Peace Youth Online Innovation Challenge are showing how creativity, technology and cultural expression can help build more inclusive and connected communities across Africa.
Creatives4Peace Youth Online Innovation Challenge: Young innovators shaping new approaches to peacebuilding
August 26, 2026
What can a humanoid robot, spoken-word poetry and a virtual reality game contribute to peace?
For three young African innovators, creativity offers practical ways to address exclusion, strengthen cultural connections and create dialogue across differences.
The Creatives4Peace Youth Online Innovation Challenge celebrated young creatives using art, culture and innovation to promote peace and social cohesion across the continent. Through an open call, young artists and entrepreneurs working in areas such as visual arts, music, film, fashion, gaming and digital media were invited to present innovative solutions that address social challenges and strengthen community resilience. Following a continent-wide selection process, 15 finalists pitched their ideas to a panel of experts.
The winners reflect the diversity of creative approaches to peacebuilding and social cohesion, spanning assistive robotics in Kenya, storytelling in Nigeria and immersive cultural experiences in Côte d’Ivoire.
While their approaches differ, their work demonstrates how creativity can open new spaces for participation, cultural connection and dialogue.
Making culture more accessible through robotics
For Norah Kimathi of Kenya, innovation begins with inclusion.
A robotics engineer and peacebuilder, Norah is one of the founders of Zerobionic, an initiative developing autonomous humanoid robots that translate educational and cultural narratives into sign language in real time.
The technology is designed to make learning and storytelling more accessible to deaf communities while combining assistive robotics with environmentally conscious design. The robots are built using ocean-bound plastic and powered by solar energy.
For Norah, accessibility is closely connected to social inclusion. Exclusion from cultural and knowledge systems can also affect people’s sense of belonging and their ability to participate fully in society.
Reflecting on her experience at the Creatives4Peace Youth Online Innovation Challenge, Norah connected this commitment to inclusion with the broader foundations of peaceful societies: “For generations, deaf communities have been present but invisible in the cultural spaces that define who they are. At the Creatives4Peace Youth Online Innovation Challenge, I witnessed inclusion finally getting a seat at the table as the foundation of peace.”
At the Creatives4Peace Youth Online Innovation Challenge, I witnessed inclusion finally getting a seat at the table as the foundation of peace.
Her work illustrates how emerging technologies can be designed around the needs of deaf communities while demonstrating the potential of African-led innovation in assistive technology.
Turning stories into spaces for dialogue
For Zakari Emmanuel of Nigeria, creativity takes the form of words, performance and conversation.
A spoken-word poet, peace educator and creative advocate, Zakari leads the ARTvocacy Movement, which uses poetry, storytelling and performance to create dialogue among young people from different ethnic, religious and social backgrounds.
His approach grew from witnessing how quickly misinformation could create tension within his own community. That experience shaped his belief in the ability of storytelling to challenge fear, stereotypes and division.
Through ARTvocacy Movement: Voices Beyond Divides, Zakari creates opportunities for young people to discuss identity, belonging, peace and citizenship through live performances, community gatherings, workshops and digital storytelling.
Participants are encouraged to share their own experiences while listening to and engaging with perspectives different from their own.
For Zakari, the challenge also brought wider recognition to work he has been developing in his community for years.
“When they called my name for second place, I jumped up and shouted right there in the room,” he recalled. “This goes to show the work I’ve been doing in my community for years is finally being seen on a global platform and I’m not stopping here.”
[...] the work I’ve been doing in my community for years is finally being seen on a global platform and I’m not stopping here.
His initiative demonstrates how creative expression can make difficult conversations more accessible and provide young people with spaces to engage in peacebuilding and foster social cohesion.
Connecting a new generation with cultural heritage
In Côte d’Ivoire, Poegnan Jean-Christian Fortune Douty, known as Cris Douty, is exploring how technology can help young people reconnect with their cultural heritage.
The multidisciplinary artist and immersive technology creator developed Initiation Côte d’Ivoire, a virtual reality experience that transforms Ivorian heritage into an interactive digital environment.
Through exploration, challenges and mini-games, players encounter traditions, architecture, music, dance, clothing, landscapes, historical references and local stories.
The aim is to bring cultural education into formats that are familiar and engaging for younger generations.
Rather than approaching heritage through a conventional lesson, the project allows users to experience it through play and discovery. It also presents the diversity of Ivorian communities as part of a shared Ivorian culture, helping strengthen cultural understanding and social cohesion.
“The Creatives4Peace Youth Online Innovation Challenge was an unforgettable experience and an important milestone for the use of video games in education across Africa,” Cris said. “I’m proud that Initiation Côte d’Ivoire can contribute to this movement and show how our cultures and technology can create real impact.”
Creatives4Peace Youth Online Innovation Challenge was an unforgettable experience and a major step for the evolution of video games in education across Africa.
Initially developed as a virtual reality experience, mobile and PC versions are also planned to make the project accessible to a wider audience.
Creativity as part of the peacebuilding toolkit
The three winning initiatives approach peacebuilding in very different ways.
One focuses on accessibility. Another creates dialogue through performance and storytelling. The third uses technology to preserve and reinterpret cultural heritage.
Together, they show how innovation for peace can take different forms.
Technology can help widen participation. Storytelling can create spaces to challenge misinformation, confront stereotypes and understand perspectives across social divides. Cultural expression can strengthen connections to identity and heritage.
Through the Creatives4Peace Youth Online Innovation Challenge, these young innovators are demonstrating how Africa’s creative and digital sectors can contribute to more inclusive societies and stronger social cohesion.
Norah, Zakari and Cris will now head to Cameroon to participate in the Creatives4Peace Forum, where they will showcase their work and connect with a wider network of peers, professionals, partners and key stakeholders across the Cultural and Creative Industries sector.