Umoja: Co-Creating Histories of Resistance Through Collaborative Game Design

The Umoja Project is a powerful reminder of what can happen when academic research meets creative practice and community storytelling.

by Dr Marie Rodet, SOAS

Developed in partnership with Jiwe Studio and supported by the SOAS IAA Impact Grant and Unesco Kenya, Umoja aims to challenge dominant narratives about slavery by highlighting African resistance, not as passive suffering, but through stories of agency, defiance and resilience.

Launched in August 2025, Umoja is an interactive educational game that weaves together 25 community-led stories from the Swahili Coast in Kenya. These stories – rich, multi-layered and emotionally resonant – form the narrative backbone of the game and reflect a collective effort grounded in dialogue, creativity and historical memory.

Our approach placed collaboration at the centre. The project began with a research-to-game translation workshop involving community members from four coastal communities, Takaungu, Witu, Kipini and Mancini. This foundational phase enabled mutual learning where academic perspectives met lived experiences, reimagining how resistance to slavery could be represented through gameplay.

One of the most innovative and galvanising phases of the project that was supported by the BIEA impact grant award was the Jiwe Community Game Jam 2025, where Umoja’s anti-slavery narratives became a central theme. Held at the Nairobi Game Development Centre, this continent-wide event brought together 39 game creators from Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Ivory Coast. The “Games Against Slavery” category, led by Jiwe Games, challenged developers to create historically grounded or speculative games centring liberation, agency and resistance.

The winning prototype in this category, “Hakuna Tsana” by developers Jazzy and Chris, stood out for its compelling blend of history and gameplay. It joined a slate of new African titles that tackled difficult histories with nuance, imagination and cultural sensitivity, exactly the spirit Umoja hoped to spark. All finalists in this category were offered incubation support, publishing opportunities and mentorship, further amplifying the impact of these stories.

This synergy between grassroots storytelling and digital game design created a two-way bridge: local communities informed the narrative roots, while African developers brought these stories to life through playful, accessible and evocative formats. For many community participants, this was the first time their ancestral narratives were treated as central to a creative production process.

And for developers across the continent, the jam offered a chance to engage with slavery resistance stories in ways that expanded their own design practice and cultural insight.

Personally, the Umoja experience transformed how I understand impact work. It pushed me to integrate co-creation, cultural sensitivity and collaborative design into every layer of the project. I learned deeply from Jiwe Studio, whose commitment to respectful storytelling and their ability to render complex histories into emotionally compelling game mechanics was nothing short of inspiring.

For Jiwe Studio, the project expanded their practice as a socially conscious creative agency. Through the jam, they experimented with new participatory design frameworks, strengthened ties with African gaming communities and laid the groundwork for what a historically grounded, decolonial game could look like on the continent.

As we move forward from the game’s launch, we’re buoyed by the enthusiasm from educators, cultural institutions and youth organisations eager to use Umoja as a tool for decolonial education and creative engagement. The next steps include user testing, refining gameplay mechanics and planning for long-term sustainability and scale. The word Umoja means “unity” in Swahili and it has defined every phase of this journey.

From coastal Kenya to coding hubs across Africa, from oral histories to digital storytelling, Umoja is a living testament to the power of collective creativity in reclaiming history and shaping new futures.