Background
Power in the Voice began in 2005, when the British Council in Mozambique ran a two-month pilot project in Maputo. This involved three different events:
- The Voice Fair: an outdoor fair with a book fair and a range of different spaces for people of all ages to tell stories, play music, perform or simply to express themselves. The concept of 'Talking Heads' enabled people to speak freely about whatever they liked, in front of a camera - some of it was funny, while some of it was very moving and engaging
- Workshops for poets, storytellers, dramatists, teachers, translators and students, led by visiting and local experts in their fields
- The Rap Competition (Nova Onda de Rap) involving 15 schools around Maputo, as well as English teachers and renowned rap artists. The schools adapted the competition to their own circumstances, but interestingly all of the poems and songs performed carried important social messages and explored international themes such as politics, race relations and diversity and trust. A recording contract was awarded for the winning rap group, and a multi-media exhibition was held, including work by local photographers.
International artists were invited to take part, including UK hip hop artist Jonzi D and the performance poet Adisa.
Film-maker Dorothy Brislin was one of the key advisors to the Power in the Voice pilot project. She said 'The power of the Power in the Voice pilot in Mozambique lay in the fact that it interested and brought together people of a wide variety of social, age and nationality backgrounds in a safe, creative environment - people felt free to express themselves. There is not much of a culture of young people writing and performing their own work in Mozambique, but Power in the Voice turned this around and gave a number of performers and writers the courage and space to test their work on an appreciative audience'.
The Power in the Voice Rap Competition influenced the entertainment scene in Maputo. It built capacity in the schools for this kind of event and opened up a whole new audience and market that many entertainers had been ignoring. Following Power in the Voice, a number of the rappers who had been involved ran hip hop concerts in their schools, using their own initiative and ideas.
Power in the Voice was a great success in Mozambique and from September 2006 to June 2008 was to other African countries and the UK.
