Storytelling as Safeguarding
Preserved the living song heritage of elder South Sudanese women, documenting about 400 songs across Kakwa, Avokaya, Dinka and Nuer communities. The collection is now held in the British Library Sound Archive.
- Where
- Uganda and Kenya
- When
- November 2023 – mid-2025
- Status
- Completed
- Areas
- Culture & Heritage
- Partners
- Likikiri Collective (lead), SheLeads Kakuma
- Funders
- British Council Cultural Protection Fund
Storytelling as Safeguarding: Protecting South Sudanese Women’s Cultural Heritage in Refugee Settings in Uganda and Kenya is a community-led initiative dedicated to preserving, documenting, and revitalising the living song heritage and oral traditions of elder South Sudanese women in displacement settings.
Led by Likikiri Collective in partnership with the Community Development Centre (CDC) in Uganda and SheLeads Kakuma in Kenya, and supported by the British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund, the project addresses the urgent risk of cultural erasure caused by conflict, displacement, and the loss of knowledge holders.
The project documented approximately 400 traditional songs across the Kakwa, Avokaya, Dinka, and Nuer communities, creating a permanent digital collection preserved at the British Library Sound Archive, local partner offices, and national archives.
Results
- 400
traditional women’s songs documented and archived