Picha Mtaani, Swahili for ‘street exhibition’, is a youth-led peace initiative that primarily seeks to create space for young people to reconcile and become agents of reconciliation to their respective communities.

Nearly three years after Kenya’s worst election violence, which left 1,500 dead and hundreds of thousands internally displaced, Kenya is a nation in search of its identity. Picha Mtaani aims at providing a platform for national reflection and building local reconstruction consensus through photo exhibitions and conversation. This project aims at organizing target communities to play their part in the reconciliation and reconstruction process.

Through an exhibition set of images taken during Kenya’s 2007/2008 post-election violence, we hope that by staring at the horror we inflicted on each other, we can steer the individual towards personal reflection, towards a willingness to have honest dialogue, and we also hope to create a space for community healing and reconciliation.

The Picha Mtaani national peace building initiative and exhibition tour, has successfully visited ten election violence most affected towns including Nairobi, Nakuru, Eldoret, Kericho, Kisumu, and has enjoyed tremendous support from the Kenyan public; this was illustrated by the participation of over seven hundred thousand (700,000) young people, the submission of over thirty thousand completed questionnaires (30,000) and the subsequent signing of over sixty-one thousand peace pledges (61,000) in our exhibitions series throughout the country.

In total, from 2008 to 2011:

1. Picha Mtaani was exhibited in ten cities and towns: Nairobi, Naivasha, Nakuru, Eldoret, Kericho, Kisumu, Mombasa, Nyahururu, Kuresoi, and Mai Mahiun
2. Subsequently, over 20 mini exhibitions were held, over just this past year, 2010-2011.
3. 700,000 Kenyans saw the exhibition and had the opportunity to reflect on that national tragedy, engage in honest dialogue, and plan for community action.
4. 35,000 people completed surveys, offering important insights arising from views of ordinary Kenyans on community reconciliation, roles and contributions of individuals to peace building, effects of the violence of their lives and recommendations for national healing.
5. 61,000 individuals filled in pledge cards that committed themselves to uphold peace and promote active nonviolence.
6. Videos of the exhibition have been used as a model in 10 African countries by the Africa Youth Alliance of YMCA.

Most recently, October of 2011 marked the launch of Heal the Nation, the documentary film chronicling Picha Mtaani’s journey across the country.  Through this independently produced film, Picha Mtaani intends to bring this experience to an even greater audience.  The film is available online on YouTube.

Read the newsletter  for the latest updates on Picha Mtaani and its plans.

Moving forward, Picha Mtaani targets to reach out to at least two million additional young persons in Kenya.  We are working in the 210 constituencies, mobilizing young Kenyans into the Kenya Ni Kwetu (Kenya is Our Home) movement.

Next, Picha Mtaani is launching a creative hub social enterprise, which opens its doors in December. PAWA 254 will be an innovative, new, collaborative office for visual creatives in Kenya. PAWA 254 derives its name from a combination of “power” in Swahili and the Kenya country code, a symbol of national unity. This new workspace – a community facility and studio – will bring together established and aspiring young photographers, cartoonists, animators, video & filmmakers, as well as entrepreneurs and activists, to work, learn, and share in an environment that inspires creativity and efforts to bring about social change.

We at Picha Mtaani believe that together we can forgive, make peace, heal and move forward — together we can, pamoja tunaweza.  And we must, because Kenya Ni Kwetu.