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V4T Academy Mali

Voice4Thought Academy (V4TA) Mali started as a pilot in 2020. Six years later it is a movement: eleven branches where young people use research, theatre, slam and film to raise the issues that matter to them and take them into dialogue with their communities. This special gathers the productions, insights and stories from those years.

A programme for young people, by young people

What happens when young people draw on their own cultural strength to shape the conversation about Mali’s future? Through dance, poetry, music, oral traditions and research, they explore their world, make sense of their experiences and develop new perspectives. In this way, critical thinking becomes the starting point for dialogue – and dialogue the beginning of change.

Where change begins

Rooted in their history, knowledge and culture, young people in the Sahel region find their own voice and shape their future.

Mobile schools

Through its École itinérante, or ‘travelling school’, V4TA reaches young people in communities from Bougouni to Timbuktu, helping to build local youth networks, strengthen community support, and reinforce existing local youth centres.

Headquarters and the regional branches

Other projects of V4TA Mali

Six years of the Voice4Thought Academy in Mali

2,600
young people directly involved
11
antennas across Mali
2M+
views on TikTok

Power of theatre

What if theatre could open the door to conversations that are otherwise difficult to have? V4TA builds on Mali’s rich traditions of storytelling, poetry and performance, giving young people a space to raise their voices, ask critical questions and spark dialogue across generations.

Themes

Across Mali, young people are exploring the issues that shape their lives and communities. From school dropout and displacement to gender, peacebuilding and cultural traditions such as n’domo, V4TA brings diverse perspectives to the surface. Explore some of the stories and ideas that have emerged over six years.

Gold mining

Gold brings money, opportunity and hope, but also carries a hidden cost. Over several years, V4TA has explored the realities of gold mining through research, theatre and film. From the environmental impact of dragage to young people leaving school for the mines, these stories reveal the choices, struggles and consequences behind the gold.

Women’s position in public life

The V4TA Mali programme has also placed particular emphasis on women’s inclusion and participation in public life in Mali, where their participation still cannot be taken for granted. Women also continue to have more limited access to education and employment, despite growing awareness among young people of the need for change in this area. From the very beginning, ensuring that enough women participate in the programme has been an important pillar of V4T Academy Mali. Women’s role in public life has been explored in various ways and has been the subject of dialogue, including women’s…

Six years V4T Academy Mali – Young people in motion

We look back on six years of remarkable growth and impact. Where young people were initially still searching for the questions they could ask and the topics they could explore, they have now developed into critical citizens who are developing their own voices and increasingly taking up space to address the issues that matter to them. V4T Academy has set these young people in motion. There has been tremendous growth in the young people’s personal development and independence. By ‘arming…