Active programmes

Shaping the
Dialogue

Seven Foundation programmes and three Labs practices, working as one initiative across the Delta.

I AM VOCAL Foundation

Civic voice
& dialogue

Public conversation as a habit, not an event. The Foundation’s programmes give young people a platform, a microphone and a method for turning what they see into what gets discussed.

Ideas conference

TEDxPortHarcourt

The region’s longest-running ideas stage, bringing speakers, performers and audiences from across the Delta into one room each year.
Public dialogue

State of Society

Town-hall style conversations on governance, public services and everyday life, where residents put questions directly to officials and experts.
Agenda setting

Community Curation

Small facilitated sessions in which a community decides which stories, places and issues should be documented and taken forward.
Civic intelligence

VOICES

Citizens report what is happening in their communities and the issues that concern them most. VOICES gathers those reports into broad themes that feed our cause mapping.
Editorial

The Invisible Ballot

Re-imagining the Nigerian social contract: what citizens and the state owe each other, and why trust in how leaders are chosen decides whether people take part.
Creative advocacy

Paint the Future

Young artists work with communities to picture the future they want, through murals, illustration and public installations.
Podcast

Na So We See Am

Conversations in Pidgin and English about what life in the Delta looks like from the ground, from markets to creeks to council chambers.
I AM VOCAL Labs

I AM VOCAL Labs

A record that holds up. The Labs document places, memories and environmental change with enough care that the evidence can be revisited, compared and trusted.

LAB-01 Environmental record 360° Field Capture Panoramas captured at fixed points along creeks, shorelines and settlements, repeated over time to show change that is easy to deny and hard to prove.
  1. 01

    Choose the point

    Communities and the Labs agree fixed capture points that matter locally.

  2. 02

    Capture on schedule

    Panoramas are taken from the same spot, height and bearing each visit.

  3. 03

    Log and consent

    Every capture is logged with time, place and the consent of those pictured.

  4. 04

    Compare over time

    Records are set side by side so change can be seen and cited.

Who it’s for
Environmental monitors and affected communities
What it produces
Before-and-after records with capture logs
Formats
Fixed-point capture, Drone, Field notes
LAB-02 Oral history Spatial Memory Recorded memories pinned to the places they describe, from fishing grounds to old markets, so heritage stays attached to its geography.
  1. 01

    Gather the circle

    Elders and young people meet where the memories happened.

  2. 02

    Record the story

    Interviews are recorded in the speaker’s own language.

  3. 03

    Pin it to place

    Each memory is tied to the place it describes.

  4. 04

    Return it

    Collections are shared back with families and schools first.

Who it’s for
Elders, families, schools
What it produces
Place-based oral history collections
Formats
Audio interviews, Transcripts, Story maps
LAB-03 Open evidence Research Archive Curated datasets and briefings for journalists, researchers and policy makers, released under clear terms with methodology notes.
  1. 01

    Collect

    Records from curation, field capture and VOICES are gathered.

  2. 02

    Check

    Metadata, consent and sources are verified.

  3. 03

    Release

    Datasets and briefs are published with clear terms.

  4. 04

    Respond

    Researchers and journalists can request specific data.

Who it’s for
Journalists, academics, civil society, government
What it produces
Citable releases with methodology notes
Formats
Datasets, Briefs, Data requests

Lead a programme in your community

Talk to the team