UMUZI is African Leadership Academy’s annual festival that celebrates the arts and creative voices at ALA and across the African continent. Each year, it creates space for students and artists to share work, exchange ideas, and explore what creativity can offer our communities and our future.
In 2026, UMUZI centers on the theme Sankofa – A New Genesis.
Sankofa is a concept from the Twi language of Ghana that speaks to the idea of going back in order to move forward. It reminds us that the past is not something to discard, but something to learn from. Our histories, cultures, and memories hold knowledge that can help shape what comes next.
This year’s theme invites participants to look closely at where they come from and ask how those roots can inform new forms of expression. A new beginning does not mean forgetting what came before. It means carrying forward lessons, stories, and traditions and allowing them to evolve.
Throughout the festival, Sankofa will show up in many forms. Workshops, performances, conversations, and exhibitions will explore the relationship between heritage and innovation, blending traditional practices with contemporary ideas and new technologies. Artists will experiment with sound, movement, storytelling, visual art, and design to reflect on how memory and imagination can exist together.
At its core, UMUZI 2026 asks simple but meaningful questions. What do we need to return to? What wisdom have we inherited from our families, cultures, and communities? How do we create work that honors the past while speaking honestly to the future?
UMUZI 2026 is both a celebration and a moment of reflection. It is a chance for young creatives to pause, look back, and then move forward with greater clarity and intention. It is about remembering, creating, and imagining what is possible when African stories are told by African voices.
You can watch highlights from last year’s UMUZI below!
