The Saturday of 21^st March 2026 is The Word Poetry Day. On that day, Kitara Nation, a poetry organisation, in partnership with Bayimba Foundation, an arts organisation, shall host a launch event for the “Emboozi Teba Nkadde” Poetry Scholarship Program.

Register to attend: https://forms.gle/pXCzfT5BbrbtfbDx5

2. BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

 

Bayimba Foundation, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, is inviting 1,000 young poets to join this comprehensive scholarship program delivered by Kitara Nation and Steadman Global dedicated to professionalizing the art of poetry and providing young creatives with technical skills to turn their talent into a viable career. Whether a high school student, a resident of a refugee settlement, or a young person living with a disability, every voice is a national treasure. This program exists to publish it.

 

Kitara Nation, founded in 2017 by a collective of young Ugandan poets, was built to address exactly this gap. Since its founding, Kitara Nation has published over twenty-two titles, established school poetry programs across Uganda, and — during the COVID-19 lockdown period alone published 150 young Ugandan poets, releasing twelve new titles in a single year. This track record demonstrates both the appetite for Ugandan poetry and the transformative effect of structured support for young poets.

 

The Emboozi Teba Nkadde Poetry Scholarship builds on this foundation, extending its reach to 1,000 scholars and deepening its programming to encompass not only the craft of writing but the full arc of a literary career: from first draft to published book, and from published book to sustainable income.

3. PROGRAMME OVERVIEW

 

The launch event shall have a series of 3 discussions all centred around the poetry program. There shall also be the unveiling of the schools, partners, trainers and the Kitara Nation authors. Also, the works to used during the trainings, including those to be yet published, shall be formally unveiled. Lastly, there shall be poetry performances by select poets.

Program Theme

“For the Pens That Shout and the Mouths That Shut”

This theme honors the duality of the Ugandan poet’s experience: the inner voices that roar with ideas, and the external silences imposed by poverty, marginalization, and lack of platform. The CPWPP is designed to bridge that gap giving young poets the pen, the platform, and the professional foundation to be heard.

Target Audience

The launch event is deliberately inclusive, giving visibility to poetry publishing as a career that is often overlooked by mainstream creative training. Target groups include:

• High school students across Uganda, including those in government and community schools.
• Young residents of refugee settlements, whose lived experiences carry profound poetic power.
• Young people living with disabilities (PWDs), whose voices are a vital and underrepresented part of Uganda’s literary landscape.

4. OBJECTIVES

 

The Launch Event of the Emboozi Teba Nkadde Poetry Scholarship Program is guided by the following objectives:

• To launch the poetry program and its branding
• To have fun while celebrating poetry on World Poetry Day
• To introduce the various partners of the poetry program to enhance collaboration
• To give platform to the marginalised voices in poetry to express themselves

5. PROGRAMME COMPONENTS

 

1 – Three (3) Discussions, 30 minute discussions on Poetry

A) Poetry as a livelihood: A conversation with young poets and publishers (3 panelists)
B) Rewriting Belonging: Disability Inclusion in Poetry Spaces (3 panelists)
C) Reclaiming Humanity: Poetry in Refugee Spaces

2 – The Unveiling: (30 min)

(i) The program implementing partners,
(ii) the schools involved,
(iii) the trainers and
(iv) the Kitara Nation Authors under the Kitara Nation Series Season II

3 – The Poetry Performances/Readings: (1 hr)

Select poets shall present their works for the audience, followed by an open mic

4 – Music, Photo Moments, Dinner & Networking:

Food shall served and the audience shall network and then people shall leave at leisure.

6. MILESTONE EVENT — EMBOOZI TEBA NKADDE POETRY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM LAUNCH

 

On World Poetry Day, 21 March 2026, Bayimba Foundation and Kitara Nation will host the Emboozi Teba Nkadde Poetry Scholarship Program

This public celebration will mark the beginning of the scholarship program’s first cohort, bringing together poets, publishers, educators, policymakers, booksellers, and poetry lovers from across Uganda and the African continent. The event serves two distinct but complementary purposes: to unveil the poets selected for publication through the CPWPP, and to showcase already existing works published by Kitara Nation celebrating the full depth of the organization’s literary catalogue and the journey that has brought it here.

Event Program

• Official Opening Ceremony: Welcome remarks from Bayimba Foundation and Kitara Nation leadership. (10 min)
• Poetry Readings and Performances: Live performances by high school poets (15 min)
• Panel Discussion 1 — ‘Poetry as Livelihood’: A conversation with young poets and publishers (30 min)
• Poetry Readings and Performances : Live performances by PWD’S (15 min)
• Panel Discussion 2 — ‘Rewriting Belonging’: Disability inclusion in poetry spaces (30 min)
• Performances: Live performances by refugee poets (15 min)
• Panel Discussion 3 — ‘Reclaiming Humanity’: A conversation with young poet-authors, publishers, and literary entrepreneurs on sustainable creative careers. (30 mi)
• The Unveiling: The program implementing partners, (ii) the schools involved, (iii) the trainers and (iv) the Kitara Nation Authors under the Kitara Nation Series Season II (15 min)
• Photo moments (5 min)
• Dinner music and networking: people eat, network and leave at leisure.

 

7. IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS

 

Bayimba Foundation

Bayimba Foundation is a leading Ugandan arts development organization dedicated to promoting artistic excellence and creating sustainable opportunities for African artists. As the lead convening partner, Bayimba brings extensive experience in program design, artist development, and community engagement.

Kitara Nation

Founded in 2017, Kitara Nation is Uganda’s foremost poetry publishing house, with a proven record of discovering, nurturing, and publishing young Ugandan poets. With a presence at the Uganda National Cultural Centre and a national network of school poetry clubs, Kitara Nation is the primary delivery partner for the CPWPP, providing both the programming expertise and the publishing infrastructure to bring scholars’ work to market.

Kitara Nation: www.kitaranation.com

Bayimba Foundation: www.bayimba.org

“Emboozi Teba Nkadde.”
A story never grows old.

Register here to attend: https://forms.gle/pXCzfT5BbrbtfbDx5