Gender Ministry’s Commissioner Mujuni launches the “Emboozi teba Nkadde” Poetry scholarship initiative.

"Emboozi Teba Nkadde" (meaning "a conversation is never old") is a poetry writing and publication scholarship initiative in Uganda, launched by Kitara Nation and the Bayimba Foundation on World Poetry Day 2026. 

The initiative project according to the leadership of Kitara National projects to support over 1,000 young poets by turning their verses into professional careers through training, mentorship, and publication, specifically targeting young talent.

As part of celebration to mark World Poetry the leadership of Kitara Nation together with Bayimba Foundation, Steadman and partners unveiled the poetry scholarship program on Saturday 21st March 2026 at Kara Space in Bugolobi Kampala.

Commissioner on Equity and Rights Mr Bernard Mujuni making his remarks 

While launching the program, Mr. Mujuni Bernard Makuba, the Chief Guest and Commissioner Equity and Rights in the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development highlighted that for the poets to elevate the talent into a professional, there is a need to monetise talent to create jobs in the entire poetry ecosystem including writing, designing, crafts, printing, performance among others.

He urged the poets to form organisation such as saving schemes (SACCOs) to enable them access funding which he says are structured with rules, regulations and outreavh sharing mechanisms.

“We have the creative funds for artists but poets are not in the mix of accessing funds. We need poets organization to register a SACCO to access money. In the gender ministry funds are available but will require organized poets” he said

Commissioner Mujuni said that the ministry for the 2nd quarter released UGX 30 billion for various creative groups including artists, comedians, among others.

He revealed that 30% of jobs for young people is found in the creative industry entering the job with minimal barriers.

“There is no approval to create an audio, craft or video, but we must have purpose while developing content. Create a book that will outlive yourself” he advised the young creators .

Mr. Peter Kagayi Ngobi from Kitara Nation said that as the country joins the world to commemorate the world poetry day, it’s the time to think about poetry as a career to generate income.

He applauded the partnership with Bayimba foundation and Mastercard foundation that supported the talent of poetry and the program.

“Lets start thinking about poetry as a career. Those days poetry was seen as passion but it can be a career for economic gains” he said.

Bamulinde Bridget from Steadman Global Consulting said they are supporting the creative industry to take it to the next levrl from just being a talent to business and address challenges there in.

She said that they are committed to equipping creator with skills to ensure they become enterprises with market skills and certification.

“We provide financial literacy, branding skills, access to markets, linkages and collaborations, mentorship to diversify income areas” she said

The programming is implemented by Kitara Nation, in collaboration with Bayimba Foundation, and Steadman, aimed at providing a toolkit for emerging poets and foster a sustainable poetry culture in Uganda, supporting both young writers and those with disabilities in Higher school, refugee settlement among others, while focusing on empowering "pens that shout and mouths that shut" slogan,

The activities during the launch including: poetry performance from high schools, refugees, persons with disabilities, and other authors and panel discussions on various topics.