Who We Are

The Organisation

PAWA254, PAWA Initiative is a global youth-led organisation that uses Artivism for social change established in Kenya in 2011. A unique Kenyan art and cultural collaborative hub, that houses, fosters and catalyses creative and community-driven projects for social change. The acronym “PAWA” is a Swahili alteration for “power”, while “254” is Kenya’s country code.

PAWA has established itself as a bold niche organization in the ‘artivism’ space that creatively integrates art and activism to promote active civic participation, human rights, livelihood improvement, and employment development for Kenyan youth.

PAWA leverages the energy and intensity of arts to strengthen understanding and exploration of emerging issues in Kenya, and increase youth involvement in positive development processes. As a collaborative creative hub with a vision of mainstreaming arts and culture in the pursuit of social justice for all, PAWA254 works with artists, awakening in them a deep socio-economic and political consciousness. This is achieved through empowering them to connect their art to the pursuit of a better Kenya. PAWA254 is an integral part of the Youth Serving Organisations (YSOs), and works closely with community groups and like-minded Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the governance and human rights space to further the goal of championing human rights while advocating for accountability in utilization of public resources.