Six youth-led teams are now taking on the challenge of transforming research on dignified and fulfilling work for Africa’s youth into creative, accessible and engaging content.
What happens when groundbreaking research is placed in the hands of young African creatives?
Launched by the Wits Centre on African Philanthropy & Social Investment (CAPSI) at the Wits Business School, the Pan-African Youth Competition was designed to take research beyond traditional academic spaces and bring its findings into the platforms, languages and formats that young people engage with every day.
The competition forms part of CAPSI’s landmark 17-country study on dignified and fulfilling work for Africa’s youth, which examines the role of the nonprofit sector in creating meaningful opportunities and livelihoods for young people across the continent.
Following a highly competitive selection process with 187 applications across the African continent, six winning teams were selected to develop innovative interpretations of the research.
Six teams. Six perspectives. One continental conversation
We would like to congratulate Himiza Narratives Limited, Parah Creatives, Team Nudge Games, CGB, PACKS Africa and Rafinki for their selection.
The selected teams will use creative formats such as digital storytelling, documentaries, podcasts, social media content, visual storytelling and other innovative media to explore the research findings and make them relevant to young audiences.
Rather than simply communicating research findings, the initiative places young people at the centre of the knowledge-translation process giving them the opportunity to decide how African research should be told, shared and understood by their generation.
The six winners will receive support to develop their concepts, alongside mentorship, visibility and opportunities to showcase their work to audiences across the continent.
The initiative builds on CAPSI’s original US$128,000 competition, which was designed to support youth-led teams across Southern, East, North and West Africa.
From research to action
The competition reflects CAPSI’s commitment to ensuring that research does not remain confined to academic reports.
With research being generated across 17 countries, creative knowledge translation is becoming increasingly important. Young people can play a critical role in turning complex evidence into stories that are accessible, relatable and capable of sparking conversation and action.
As the six teams begin developing their work, audiences can look forward to fresh perspectives on youth employment, livelihoods, dignity, opportunity and the future of work in Africa.
Six teams. Six creative voices. Seventeen countries of research. One shared ambition: to put African youth at the centre of the conversation about the future of work.
