African storytellers set for Mombasa conference on AI, creative futures

African storytellers, policymakers and creative industry players will meet in Mombasa from October 28 to 31 for a conference examining the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on storytelling and cultural ownership across the continent.

The four-day Afrotellers Conference, scheduled to take place at PrideInn Paradise Beach Resort, will bring together media professionals, researchers, artists, digital experts and cultural practitioners from Africa and beyond.

Held under the theme ‘Narrative Sovereignty in the Age of AI and Shifting Global Power, the conference will explore how African creatives can retain control over their stories, navigate emerging technologies and strengthen the continent’s creative industries.

Afrotellers founder and executive director Willson Chivhanga said hosting the conference in Mombasa would connect local creative communities with a broader African network while creating opportunities for collaboration.

“Mombasa gives us an opportunity to place conversations around narrative sovereignty within a living cultural and creative ecosystem,” Chivhanga said.

He added that organisers hoped participants would engage with the coastal city, its people and its stories while establishing partnerships that would extend beyond the conference.

The programme will focus on artificial intelligence and algorithmic colonialism, policy and advocacy, and the sustainability of cultural and creative economies.

Participants will examine how algorithms and emerging technologies shape the production and distribution of African stories, alongside the policies and institutions needed to support the continent’s creative sector.

Afrotellers co-founder and partnerships and programmes lead Bekithemba Ntini said collaboration with local organisations was central to developing a creative ecosystem that reflects the communities involved.

“Working alongside local cultural organisations, creatives, institutions and knowledge holders allows Afrotellers to listen, learn and create something rooted in the place and its people,” Ntini said.

The organisation is partnering with local stakeholders, including Swahili Pot FM, to organise the inaugural Afrotellers Festival, which will merge with Pwani Gat Talent to celebrate local and pan-African talent through storytelling, music and other forms of creative expression.

The Afrotellers Market will also provide a platform for creatives, cultural practitioners and entrepreneurs to showcase their work and connect with audiences.

Participants are expected from Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Malawi, Ghana, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Togo, Madagascar and Mali, among other countries.

Beyond the conference, Afrotellers aims to strengthen partnerships, mobilise resources and develop institutional support for African storytellers, with the Mombasa gathering expected to lay the groundwork for sustained collaboration across the continent.