The Vital Role of Storytelling in Advancing the SDGs

Our Film, Report It, which addresses gender-based violence and sexual abuse, was screened at the 2023 Abuja Literary and Arts Festival (ALITFEST).

By Cynthia Umeh

Stories, from ancient myths, passed down through generations to modern-day social justice initiatives, have an unrivaled potential to inspire, educate, and organize people toward common goals. In light of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), storytelling emerges as an important instrument for encouraging understanding, empathy, and action toward a more sustainable and equitable future.

Beneath the Veil

Photo by Kreative Kwame on Pexels

By Atinuke Adeosun

Cradled by rolling hills and cloaked in lush greenery, Umu Oma rests in tranquil beauty. Umu Oma, where the sun's warmth permeates deep into the soul and those with dark complexions thrive, Adaeze emerges with a complexion as pale as the moonlight and hair as white as calabash chalk. Her birth fills her family with immense joy, but it also sparks curiosity—a child born to parents with brown hair and skin as dark as the loamy soil where the bananas are planted. In a society where likeness binds, Adaeze is born with albinism, a condition that renders her skin pallid and her hair like creamy milk.