‘What does it say about us if a child spends twelve years in school and is never asked to imagine the future?’ That was the question put to the live audience at the UR4Africa Exhibition and Fundraiser event held recently in Ikeja.

The question was the opening of the speech made by Ms Sola Ajayi, who is the founder and CEO of UR4Africa, a Pan-African media and non-profit organization focused on empowering young Africans through arts education, mentorship, and positive cultural storytelling.

‘Not what job they want. Not what exam they will pass. Not what grade they received. But what future would they like to help create?’ Sola Ajayi expatiated further on the question, giving the students, mentors, teachers, and other people present at the event something to really ponder on.

The UR4Africa mission has been in existence for 13 years now, and it has come to challenge the status quo and redefine the future of teeming youths across Africa.

The future seems to spell doom for the bigger chunk of African youths due to prevalent underdevelopment. The smaller fraction — privileged to get good education and great learning experiences — and their teachers, mentors, and enablers think African Futurism is associated with science fiction, technology, space travel, artificial intelligence, advanced cities, and worlds that do not exist yet.

According to Ajayi, that’s not all. African Futurism means something even bigger. It is the belief that Africans have the right to imagine. The right to create. The right to design. The right to participate in shaping the future rather than simply reacting to it. Because the future is not a destination. The future is a decision. And imagination is where every future begins.

The theme of the three-day exhibition held was African Futurism. The first day of the event was focused on students’ entrepreneur showcase with an exhibition walkthrough of the display of different artworks by participating artists.
The second day was the live event, and the day’s programme included poetry, dance and drama performances, a fashion showcase, remarks for UR4Africa partners, audience engagement, and student and alumni testimonials. It is interesting to note that many of these students joined the Public Art Africa programme of UR4Africa from their respective public secondary schools. Sunday, the final day of the event, was for reflections, exhibition viewing, and community networking.

What started in 2013 as a small group of people in Lagos saying yes to mentoring young people, to having conversations about art and human rights, to creativity, to leadership, and to possibility, is really now yielding great result. Listening to the testimonials of numerous students that have been trained and mentored by UR4Africa’s Public Art for Africa programme shows what one decision in the right direction can have and the positive ripple effect it can make.

With no guarantee, no roadmap, no large grant, just a belief that young people deserved opportunities to see more, do more, and become more. That decision became Public Art Africa, and over the last thirteen years, that programme has proven that talent is everywhere, so is brilliance, and also potential. But opportunity is not.

UR4Africa has become that opportunity for these young professionals who have gone through its Public Art Africa programme to hone their talent and realise their potential. To their great success and achievement in life.