Creative Education Programme Opens New Opportunities for Young People in Cameroon
By Education Correspondent
Sixty young people in Cameroon are learning traditional craft and design skills through a new creative education programme backed by the Kurt Geiger Kindness Foundation.
The Creative Corner, based in Yaoundé, offers free Saturday classes for young people aged 13 to 18, giving them the opportunity to explore weaving, leatherwork, printmaking, jewellery-making, footwear design and bag design.
The initiative was co-founded by creator and creative consultant Juliette Foxx, who grew up between Cameroon and the UK.
Working in partnership with the Kurt Geiger Kindness Foundation, she developed the programme to help young people access creative skills and opportunities that are often difficult to find locally.
Based at Holy Infant School in Yaoundé, The Creative Corner is taught by local artisan teachers who pass on techniques rooted in Cameroon’s rich craft traditions while helping students explore contemporary design and fashion.
Over recent months, students have spent their Saturdays creating bags from raffia and leather, weaving textiles using traditional Cameroonian methods and developing their own jewellery and footwear designs.
Their future ambitions range from fashion and design to law, engineering and medicine.
Seventeen-year-old Giselle Wirsungrine said the programme had helped her take her creativity seriously.
“The Creative Corner gave me the answer to a question my dad asked me years ago, when he watched me make a bow tie from an old uniform and told me I should find somewhere to take my creativity seriously,” she said.
Organisers hope the programme will help connect younger generations with Cameroon’s long-established craft traditions while creating new pathways into the country’s growing fashion and creative industries.
The project builds on the Kurt Geiger Kindness Foundation’s wider work supporting young people from underrepresented backgrounds.
Its London-based Business by Design programme provides free training, mentoring and work experience for aspiring creatives and has already helped participants secure employment, grants and higher education opportunities.
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Neil Clifford, chief executive of Kurt Geiger, said:
“When Juliette shared her vision to support young creatives in Yaoundé, we immediately knew we wanted to be part of it.
“The Creative Corner reflects the heart of the Foundation’s mission: helping young people access the support, skills and opportunities they need to thrive in the creative industries.”
Juliette Foxx said Cameroon already had an abundance of creative talent but lacked accessible routes into creative careers for many young people.
“Cameroon has extraordinary artistic and craft traditions, but for many young people there are very few formal pathways connecting that talent to confidence, industry exposure or creative careers,” she said.
“The talent already exists. What’s often missing is the infrastructure, visibility and support around it.”
The first cohort will complete the programme with a public showcase in Yaoundé later this month, featuring work created by students alongside pieces made by the programme’s artisan teachers.
