Desh Chisukulu, director of Kambisa!BeHeard, created the first visual art project for Kambisa!

Kambisa!BeHeard. is an interactive media movement trying to make you be heard. We want to give you a place to express yourself, publish your works, your thoughts, your grieves, your laughs and your beliefs. We do not aim to promote one specific line of thinking, but allow for many different views, leaving room for discussion and giving people a chance to make up their own minds.

Why we do this

We live in a world where few determine the lives of many. Often these few pretend to do so on behalf of the majority, but a lot of people in this majority feel as if they are not being represented and do not have a chance to speak out. Kambisa! ('Speak loud!') wants to give you an opportunity to tell your own story as you like it, without interference of anybody trying to twist your words on their behalf.

What we offer

Kambisa! can help you express yourself in many different ways. OnScreen, OnStage, Online and more. We offer workshops in writing, music production, internet use and film making, as well as workshops on media-education. You can read more about the different projects and workshops in their own section on our website.

How we work

Kambisa! is a non-profit organisation, currently operating in Zambia and the Netherlands. We have  offices and are registered as a society with the relevant authorities in both countries.
We have a small team of permanent staff, but in addition to that we work with a wide network of volunteers and professionals.
Using the money we make from our our commercial activities, we support our work of giving free training to people who would otherwise not get this opportunity, like youth in Zambia.

History

Kambisa! was founded in 2002 by Dutch journalist Klaartje Chisukulu-Jaspers and Zambian artist Desh Chisukulu. Living and working in Zambia, they became frustrated with the way many groups in society did not have a voice in the mainstream media and had no platform to show their talents and raise their issues.

They started Kambisa! Magazine, publishing stories and poems written by a wide range of people, including street children, prostitutes and other groups that were hardly represented. This was soon followed by a Kambisa! radio show on UNZA FM, a platform for discussion about controversial topics.

Today Kambisa has also become active in the Netherlands, trying to create dialogue between Zambians and the Dutch. In 2007 we expanded our work with film project Kambisa!OnScreen. In 2009 we added a music and internet project, Kambisa!OnStage and Kambisa!Online. Also, we have started offering workshops in the Netherlands.