‘The Jisike Collective’, which blends scholarship, film and storytelling, has outlined a series of intervention programmes to tackle the widespread knife crime in the United Kingdom. The collective also aim to empower young people across the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) region. This initiative is a product of a think-tank comprising some distinguished Nigerian-British scholars and other artists.

Dr. Samantha Iwowo, Principal Academic in Film Directing at Bournemouth University, and Dr. Vanessa Iwowo, Associate Professor at Birkbeck, University of London, and Senior Fellow at the London School of Economics, began this study in 2019 in collaboration with Nigerian-British actress Pat Micheals Odiatu and Dr. Annie East, Principal Academic at Bournemouth University. The Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange (WSICE) is also a partner.

The research examines some of the underlying factors that may expose young people to circumstances that place them at risk of knife and county-lines crime. It does so by exploring how leaders are formed from adolescence and how human identities are shaped by society, culture, class, economics, gender, age, colonial legacies, and migration.

Academically, the project draws together insights from Postcolonial Studies, Leadership Studies, Transnational Cinema, and Intersectional Identity Studies, creating an interdisciplinary framework for understanding the cultural and structural dynamics surrounding youth vulnerability and leadership formation.

The study, temporarily delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, later developed into a research film directed by Dr. Samantha Iwowo, ‘Paintbrushed… This House Must Not Fall.’

The project received seed funding from Bournemouth University, the institutional lead for the research. The film’s executive producers include pioneering Nigerian rapper and producer Weird MC, a trailblazer of the Nigerian hip hop and Afrobeats movement; internationally renowned Eurodance artiste, Dr. Alban, whose global hit, It’s My Life, helped define 1990s dance music; Nigerian highlife icon Sunny Nneji;
Dr. Uvie Brigue, consultant anaesthetist and clinical lead at Princess Royal University Hospital in the UK; and community members from Peckham including Mrs. Victoria Adeleke and Ms. Mayowa Ede.

Reflecting on the initiative, Tama Merdaci highlighted the importance of combining storytelling, creative education, and lived-experience dialogue in supporting young people facing the risks of drug involvement and knife crime.

She noted that the launch event brought together educators, community organisations, and Dorset Police, helping to establish new collaborative workshops for ethnically diverse young people and international students.

Emphasising the importance of youth voice, she observed that when young people are given space to tell their stories, communities can begin to respond collectively to the challenges they face.

This series of interventions, known as The Jisike Collective, was launched at Bournemouth University on Saturday, February 28, 2026.
The launch featured a screening of an excerpt from Paintbrushed… This House Must Not Fall, poetry readings by Nisola Jegede, and introductions from members of The Jisike Collective team.

Dr. Iwowo presented an overview of how the collective came into being and, drawing on statistics from the UK Office for National Statistics, highlighted the sobering realities surrounding knife crime in the UK.

Project Coordinator, Jegede, noted that creating the space for conversation was essential. “Knife crime is often reduced to headlines,” she explained, “but behind every headline is a young life, a family, and a community. The conversations that followed the film showed how important it is for communities, families, students, and institutions to sit together, listen deeply, reflect and think seriously about the responsibilities we share.”

Dr. Samantha Iwowo, together with the Collective’s secretary, Mira Sapudhzieva, have assembled a multicultural team drawn from the BCP community, including members of Chinese, Bulgarian, Nigerian, Pakistani, and Indian diaspora communities.

As Secretary of The Jisike Collective, Sapudhzieva emphasised the importance of multicultural knowledge exchange in the initiative’s work. She explained that her role includes helping to curate community dialogue and overseeing the post-production team responsible for editing the community stories generated through the project.

Dr. Emmanuella Ejime-Okereafor, treasurer of the collective and Co-Chair of Bournemouth University’s Race Equality Network, described the launch as “a powerful reminder that community storytelling can drive real change,” adding that initiatives such as this help bring together lived experience, research, and community voices in confronting youth crime and building safer communities.

The filmmaking dimension of the project was highlighted by Dr. Yuchen Zhou, Project Filmmaker for The Jisike Collective. Zhou noted that the film created an important platform for reflection and discussion. He described the use of film as a particularly powerful way to open conversations about knife crime and community responsibility.

Cybersecurity and Compliance Coordinator for The Jisike Collective, Taiwo Olajide, emphasised the importance of prevention and awareness in addressing youth violence. He noted that alongside storytelling initiatives, the Collective is committed to educating young people and parents through workshops that highlight prevention strategies, including digital safety and basic cybersecurity awareness, with future plans to develop digital platforms that can extend the project’s educational impact.