Cameroon | 2024 | Dance, Music, Street art

Ongola Carnival

In Yaoundé, the Ongola Carnival brings together young people from underprivileged neighborhoods through artistic creation and recycling, turning public space into a stage for expression and social renewal.

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Ongola carnival

A youth at a crossroads

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Cameroon is going through a social and economic crisis marked by rising living costs and an alarming unemployment rate affecting nearly 90% of the active population. In Yaoundé, the districts of Essos and Mvog-Ada are particularly impacted. Young people there face marginalization and major challenges: unstable family situations, dropping out of school, and precarity. Often struggling to find their place in society, many have difficulty envisioning their future. Yet these neighborhoods hold a remarkable creative potential that only needs to be recognized and uplifted.

Artist
BCS Collective (Brisse Toukam, Yvan Kenjio, Edison Ngong, Christian Siakam)

Partners
Cabinet de Sciençage, La Case des Arts, BCS Collective, Ministry of Youth and Civic Education (MINJEC), Yaoundé 5 City Council, International Organization for Migration (IOM)

Participants
70 young people from Essos and Mvog-Ada

Agency
AFD Cameroon

Create, recover, connect: the ongola carnival

artistic workshops organized

young people trained in artistic reuse and recycling

11,000

attendees at the final parade

The Ongola Carnival is an initiative led by the Cabinet de Sciençage, a cultural third-place located between the Essos and Mvog-Ada neighborhoods. In collaboration with La Case des Arts and the BCS Collective, the project seeks to engage young people in a collective artistic process centered on reuse and recycling. The objective is twofold: involve residents in urban ecology while supporting the social and economic inclusion of youth.

Over several weeks, 80 young participants from the neighborhoods join workshops dedicated to creating costumes and accessories using recycled materials. Guided by designers from the BCS Collective, they learn to transform waste into wearable artworks. Each neighborhood has its own ambassadors and visual identity, celebrating its local culture. The dynamic also includes dance, music, and choreography performances, making the carnival a unifying moment for the community.

The project culminates in a spectacular parade showcasing the costumes, masks, and floats created by the participants. The public can vote for the most original creations, strengthening both local pride and recognition. At the same time, an exhibition of the artworks is held, followed by artistic programming within the neighborhoods to extend the creative momentum and encourage long-term engagement with responsible waste management.