Griots Fellowship For storytellers, artists, and emerging leaders, aged 25–45

The LéO Africa Institute & Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (hashtag#KAS) Uganda are pleased to announce that applications for the hashtag#GriotsFellowship2026 are now open.

In West African tradition, the Griot is the keeper of memory, the voice of community, and the shaper of collective identity. Inspired by this tradition and the global power of platforms like TED Talks, the Griots Fellowship is designed for practitioners who believe that story is how hashtag#Africa reclaims its own narrative in the world.

Now entering its second cohort, we are looking for practitioners who have a story to tell, a project to develop, and a voice ready to be heard.

Writers. Filmmakers. Podcasters. Visual artists. Musicians. Oral historians. Cultural practitioners. This fellowship is for you.

The program takes fellows through:

Narrative Strategy & Craft — Sharpening the art and intention behind your storytelling
Media Production Ethics — Understanding responsibility, representation, and integrity in the stories we tell
Platform Building — Developing the presence and reach your work deserves
The LéO Africa Talk — A carefully crafted, TED-style talk delivered before a live audience

The 2026 cohort theme is "Stories that will Define our Future."

Who should apply:

▪️ Emerging leaders aged 25–45, based anywhere on the continent
▪️ Writers, artists, filmmakers, cultural practitioners, and storytellers of all kinds
▪️ Those with a story rooted in their life, their community, their corner of Africa — and the commitment to bring it to life