YOG Dakar 2026: artist Boubou raises awareness among young people through an artistic performance

On the sidelines of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG), Senegalese artist Boubou hosted a live painting session on Saturday, November 7 at the Amadou Diagne Wore elementary school in Dakar. Organized in partnership with ONE Academy, this initiative raised students’ awareness of the power of creativity and their ability to contribute to change.

Art as a means of expression and mobilization of youth. It is around this idea that Boubou’s artistic performance, organized last Saturday at the Amadou Diagne Wore elementary school, in Dakar, was structured. In front of students and teachers, the Senegalese painter created a live work, as part of an initiative supported by ONE Academy, the free ONE Campaign platform dedicated to developing the skills of young Africans.

Known for his upside-down portraits and his use of everyday objects as painting instruments, Boubou offered participants a demonstration of his know-how. The creation of the work, projected on a large screen, allowed the public to follow the different stages of its creation.

The meeting also took on a participatory dimension. The students present were invited to put their handprints on a collective canvas bearing the message: “These hands will change the world”. The artist then integrated these prints into his work, in an approach aimed at reminding children of their ability to participate in building a better future.

The event was broadcast simultaneously on several digital platforms, including YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, as well as on the artist’s TikTok account. A dissemination which made it possible to broaden the audience of this initiative beyond the educational establishment.

With this activity organized on the sidelines of the YOG Dakar 2026, ONE Academy intends to bring together the issues linked to civic engagement with the cultural and sporting realities experienced by African youth. The platform notably offers free and certified training to young people aged 18 to 35 in the areas of advocacy, leadership and community mobilization.

For Serah Makka, executive director of ONE Campaign for Africa, young people already have the energy and will to drive change in their communities. The challenge, according to her, is to give them access to knowledge, skills and networks capable of transforming this aspiration into concrete actions.

For his part, Boubou explained that he wanted to convey to children a message of confidence in their ideas and their creative potential. “Their hands can create the future,” he particularly underlined, in reference to the collective canvas created with the students.

With more than 5.5 million cumulative subscribers on Instagram, TikTok and X, Boubou, whose real name is Boubou Niang, has become known through his original artistic performances. His career also illustrates the capacity of social networks to give international visibility to Senegalese talents.