Alain Chirwisa

Alain Chirwisa has over five years of experience working with youth focusing on using the arts as a tool for activism, civic education, and positive social change. Alain Chirwisa is the founder and Artistic Director of the Mental Engagé, an organization that focuses on empowering hip hop artists with civic and human rights knowledge; producing, disseminating and promoting socially committed artistic initiatives; organizing awareness programs; and using urban culture and hip-hop as a mean. His main responsibility is to coordinate awareness and artistic workshop programs for young Congolese hip hop artists. He is also hip hop artist known as ALESH and speaks four languages including French, English, Kiswahili and Lingala. Alain has a Bachelor of Science in International Monetary Economic Sciences from University of Kisangani. Upon returning from the Washington Fellowship, he plans to create the Lumumba Civic and Cultural Center to empower youth in civic engagement, human rights, and artistic skills. Stayed in Africa.