Organisers of the Ezi-Aha Festival say they plan to raise more than 2,000 young culture ambassadors and entrepreneurs across the South-East by 2026, using culture as a tool for economic empowerment, creativity, and social development.
The convener of the festival, Sir Chukwuma Okeiyi, disclosed this on Thursday during a briefing on the 2025 Igbo Youth Culture and Tourism Entrepreneurship Conference (IYC-TEC), themed “Heritage To Enterprise: Turning Culture and Tourism Into Jobs,” scheduled to hold in Enugu on November 30, 2025.
Okeiyi said the festival was designed to equip young people across Igboland with the skills, mindset, and opportunities needed to transform their cultural identity into creative and profitable ventures. He added that the cultural festival will spotlight talented young Igbo individuals in art, craft, media, fashion, and entrepreneurship.
He described the Enugu 2025 conference as a movement driven by a desire to rebuild the pride, creativity, and enterprise of Igbo youths through culture, innovation, and tourism.
According to him, the conference marks the beginning of a transformational journey that will move across Igboland—Abia, Imo, and Anambra States—in preparation for the 2026 cultural festival in Ebonyi State.
Highlighting the benefits of participating in IYC-TEC, Okeiyi listed capacity building, networking, exposure, market access, skills development, and inspiration for self-reliance.
“It is a strategic pathway to reducing youth unemployment and curbing insecurity through productive engagement and skill-based cultural entrepreneurship,” he said.
“When young people are meaningfully engaged in creative, profitable, and socially responsible activities, the energy that once drove restiveness becomes a force for peace and development.”
Okeiyi explained that only 500 youths—who register online or offline—will benefit directly from the 2025 programme, noting that registration is free.
He added that the cultural festival, which has been held annually in Abuja since 2017 for various ethnic groups, will take place in Enugu in 2025 and in Ebonyi in 2026 to further harness Igbo youth talent.
He called on individuals, government agencies, NGOs, and members of the Igbo diaspora to partner with the organisers to achieve the vision.
“IYC-TEC Enugu 2025 is a call to action, a revival of purpose, and a celebration of who we truly are. The Igbo story must be told again—this time, by Igbo youths themselves,” he said.
