MMELI Arts Foundation, Alliance Française Lagos convene women for storytelling intensive to celebrate International Women’s Day 2026

  MMELI Arts Foundation,

Alliance Française Lagos

convene women for

storytelling intensive to celebrate

International Women’s Day 2026

To commemorate International

Women’s Day 2026, MMELI Arts

Foundation, incollaboration with

Alliance Française de Lagos, has

held the Women, Words and Wealth

workshop inIkoyi, bringing together

women writers and creatives for an

intensive focused oncraft, voice and

pathways to publication.

Designed as apractical workshop, the

programme focused on helping partic-

ipants strengthencreative identity,

develop a distinctive voice and navi-

gate publishing opportunities. Sess-

ionscentred on Creative Identity,

Developing Your Voice and Publi-

shing Pathways, led bystoryteller

and filmmaker Phoenix Ezendu;

actor, writer and filmmaker Richard

MofeDamijo; and award-winning aut-

hor and journalist Nina Anyianuka.

Speaking on the workshop’s signif-

icance, Richard Mofe-Damijo, chai-

rman of MMELI ArtsFoundation,

said the organisation was focused on

building structures that move African

voices“beyond potential into tangible

influence”, adding that creative talent

must be matched withinstitutional

support to compete globally.

Victor Mark-onyegbu, head of grants

and community building at Africa

No Filter, urgedparticipants to reco-

gnise the power of narrative in sha-

ping global perception, and to tell

grounded stories that challenge long-

standing stereotypes about the cont-

inent.

Founded by Nina Anyianuka, MMELI

Arts Foundation says it supports cult-

ural renewal andprofessional devel-

opment for creatives. Partners for the

workshop included Nestlé Nigeria,

Rite Foods, Alliance Française Lagos

and Africa No Filter.

Anyianuka said the foundation was

pushing for greater rigour in creative

practice. “The goalis not simply to

encourage expression, but to equip

women with the tools to produce work

thatcan stand in professional and glo-

bal spaces,” she said.

“That is why we created Women

, Words

and Wealth: to help women writers

move from privateexpression to public

authorship, with an emphasis on disci-

pline, structure and intentionality,”she

added.

Participants described the workshop

as a timely boost for women in the

creative sector,blending cultural gro-

unding with practical frameworks for

building sustainable careers instoryt-

elling.

Dorothy Ughenu, a television and scr-

eenwriter, said: “Women, Words &

Wealth was a firstof-its-kind prog-

ramme that developed and nurtured a

safe space for women in the storytelling

community. Applying the structures

shared by the facilitators will amplify

our voices andstrengthen our earning

power.”

MMELI Arts Foundation said details

of forthcoming workshops and opport-

unities for writerswill be announced

in the coming weeks. Interested partic-

ipants and partners are encouragedto

follow the foundation’s updates via its

website and social media pages. They

can also contactthe editorial desk for

registration information and collab-

oration enquiries.

-end-

About MMELI Arts Foundation

(MAF)

The MMÉLÌ ARTS FOUNDATION

(MAF) is a pan-African nonprofit orga-

nisation committed toadvancing crea-

tive excellence, cultural enrichment, and

community development through the

arts.MAF empowers African creatives

with the resources, opportunities, and

recognition they need tothrive across

disciplines, from craft, design, and liter-

ature to dance, music, film, theatre, and

thevisual arts.

Nina Anyianuka, an award-winning

author and journalist, is the founder and

CEO of MMELI ArtsFoundation.

Editorial Contact:

Tel: +234 803 303 9565

Email:heymmeli@mmeliartsfoundation.

com

Website:https://mmeliartsfoundation.

com/