Echoes
Across The Diaspora
Celebrating the youth of the African diaspora through collaborative art, education, and experiences.
How can creative expression through visual storytelling help youth of the diaspora explore their identities, process emotions, and build resilience while fostering a deeper connection to their cultural heritage and peers on the continent?
About
Sparking Creativity and Connection
Echoes Across the Diaspora is a cultural arts education program set to kick off in the Summer of 2025. This innovative project aims to empower marginalized youth by connecting American youth of the African diaspora with their peers in Africa. Through digital tools and collaborative visual storytelling projects, participants aged 12-17 will engage in activities that foster cultural understanding, empathy, and the sharing of personal narratives across continents. This initiative seeks sponsorship to support its implementation, providing these young individuals with the opportunity to develop strong life, communication, and interpersonal skills through meaningful connections with their cross-continental peers.
Objectives for Impact
Fostering Innovation and Creative Expression
By equipping youth in the diaspora with cutting-edge digital art and storytelling platforms, the program fosters vibrant virtual communities where shared heritage can be explored, celebrated, and reimagined. Through online collaborations, mentorship, and skill-building workshops, participants are empowered to express their unique perspectives and cultural identities in innovative ways. This digital engagement not only strengthens bonds within the diaspora but also amplifies their voices in the global artistic and societal landscape.
Building Inter-Continental Community and Cultural Reconnection
This initiative aims to mend the broken threads of cultural identity for youth in the African diaspora. By facilitating immersive cross-cultural exchanges with continental American and African youth, the program offers a transformative journey of self-discovery. Through shared artistic experiences, storytelling, and mentorship, participants can rebuild connections to ancestral traditions, languages, and values. This revitalized sense of belonging fosters resilience, pride, and a deeper understanding of one's place within both the diaspora community and the wider society.
Increasing Relevance through Culturally Responsive Education
Recognizing that education is most effective when it resonates with students' lived experiences, this initiative prioritizes a culturally responsive approach. By weaving indigenous knowledge, perspectives, and artistic expressions into the curriculum, learners are empowered to critically examine societal issues through a lens that honors their heritage. This approach not only deepens understanding but also equips youth with the tools to address complex challenges with solutions that are both innovative and culturally relevant.
Meet the Echoes Team
Antoinette Melvin, M.A.
Antoinette Melvin, owner of ELATED Creatives and an adjunct English instructor at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, NC, leverages her extensive experience as a high school English teacher, instructional coach, and designer of state assessments to bring creative solutions to education. Passionate about fostering open-minded perspectives among young people, she is dedicated to helping them overcome societal barriers, expand their imaginations, and realize their full potential. Beyond her professional work, Antoinette enjoys reading, painting, coloring, and designing digital products, all of which fuel her innovative approach to education.
Michele Moore-Felix, M.S.
Michele Moore-Felix, founder of U R SUCCESS childcare center and Youth Education and Arts, Inc., has over 28 years of experience in early childhood, youth, and family development, specializing in arts education and therapy with youth. With degrees in Early Childhood, Children Literacy, Child & Family Development, Interdisciplinary Studies, and currently pursuing a Masters in Urban Education, Michele is dedicated to creating healing spaces and age-appropriate curricula. She fosters healing through conversation and cultural exchange, uniting youth from the Diaspora and Africa. Passionate about literature, writing, and the arts, Michele's commitment to her work is matched by her love for her family and her role as an arts enthusiast.
Empower the Future of
Echoes Across the Diaspora!
Echoes Across the Diaspora is always open to community support as we prepare for the launch of this exciting experience for our youth!
The Echoes team welcomes any parties who are interested in sponsorship of this experience. Your tax-deductible donation will directly support our leadership team's transformative professional development experience at the ADES Summit in Ghana as well as securing materials and resources for out innovative youth programming.
By supporting, you're not only fostering their leadership but also amplifying the impact of Echoes Across the Diaspora, an innovative program that connects and uplifts youth through art and cultural exchange. Together, we can create a ripple effect of positive change across continents. Donate today and be a part of this extraordinary journey!
