Go Back and Get It: Exploring Sankofa

As part of their city and festival-wide We, Generate programme, Lighthouse’s Future Creative Leaders are curating a day of activity within the two-day youth-led takeover of Brighton Dome Studio Theatre.What happens when the people usually talked about become the people doing the talking?We, Generate. is a youth-led takeover of Brighton Dome, produced by the Future Creative Leaders at Lighthouse - a collective of young creatives, thinkers and community builders reimagining what culture looks like when it starts from the ground up. The day unfolds in two acts.Part I - Go Back and Get It: Exploring SankofaLed by researcher and cultural strategist Dr Fez Sibanda, this is a facilitated inquiry into what happens when a generation chooses to look back - not with nostalgia, but with purpose. What wisdom has been left behind? What tools already exist? And what does it mean to activate hope, not just hold it?Joining the conversation: Mikaela Loach, activist, author and campaigner for climate and racial justice; Joycelyn Longdon, environmental justice technologist, writer and founder of Climate in Colour; and local storyteller and community leader, Naiya. Together with young voices from Brighton's grassroots creative communities, they'll explore inheritance, imagination and the courage to reimagine - live, in dialogue with the room.Through audience contribution and collective writing, the conversation will produce a living manifesto: a declaration of intent, shaped in the moment, by the people in the room.The writings will be on the wall. Literally.Learn more about Part II - Celebrating Humanity, HopefullyPresented by the Future Creative Leaders at Lighthouse. Part of Brighton Festival 2026Meet Lighthouse’s Future Creative LeadersCasey Galt - Championing neurodivergent voices through inclusive, colourful multidisciplinary creative practice.
Elsa Monteith - Telling thoughtful, narrative-driven stories that spotlight emerging artists and grassroots culture.
Dr. Fezile Sibanda - Exploring race, coloniality and marginalised experiences to reshape education systems.
Jed Wright - Building offline, grassroots creative communities through events, poetry and collective exchange.
Kaia Allen-Bevan - Reimagining education through bold anti-racist leadership, entrepreneurship and joyful political creativity.
Levvy - Using music, film and design to creatively communicate mental health and reach young people at scale.
Lucia Comaschi - Blending digital design and traditional storytelling to amplify underrepresented voices and identities.
Megan Lee - Creating accessible, gentle creative spaces that nurture wellbeing, connection and joy.
Molly Taylor - Championing young people’s lived experience as a superpower for collective action and systems change.
Naiya - Transforming lived experience into immersive, multidisciplinary storytelling rooted in growth and self-belief.