Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games: Boubou uses children's hands to change the world

Senegalese artist Boubou transformed a classroom at the Amadou Diagne Wore Elementary School in Dakar into an art workshop on Saturday, November 7. To mark the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, he led a live painting session for students, teachers, and young people. This initiative was supported by ONE Academy, the free platform of the ONE Campaign dedicated to developing the advocacy and leadership skills of young Africans.

Known for his upside-down portraits and his use of everyday objects as painting tools, Boubou offered a demonstration of his technique. His work was projected in close-up on a giant screen, allowing the audience to follow each step of the creative process. The Senegalese artist now boasts 3.6 million followers on Instagram and 1.8 million on TikTok. In 2019, his portrait of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, created using a dumbbell, was shared by the American actor himself. Since then, he has also immortalized celebrities such as Sadio Mané, LeBron James, and Neymar. For this meeting with the children, the artist wanted to involve the public in his artwork. The students placed their handprints on a long canvas bearing the message "THESE HANDS WILL CHANGE THE WORLD." Boubou then incorporated these handprints into his creation.

“Art has given me the freedom to see things differently. People watch me paint upside down, with whatever I have in my hands, and some think I’m doing it the wrong way. For me, it’s simply my way of doing things, and it has taught me that there isn’t just one way to create art,” the painter explained. He also emphasized the message he wanted to convey to the children through this experience. “I wanted every child in that room to leave knowing that their ideas matter and that they can make a difference. When you see a painting appear before your eyes, stroke by stroke, you understand that art belongs to everyone. When the children added their handprints to the canvas, I hoped they would see it as a promise made to themselves. Their hands can create the future,” he said.

Beyond its artistic dimension, this activity aimed to raise awareness among young people about their capacity for action within their communities. For Serah Makka, Executive Director of ONE Campaign for Africa, African youth already possess the energy needed to drive change. However, they need resources and knowledge to realize their ambitions.

“Africa’s new generation already has a passion for making a difference. What young people need is access to the knowledge, skills, and networks that transform that energy into action. Boubou is a perfect example of what can be achieved with a unique vision and a refusal to accept that something is impossible. Millions of people are inspired by his groundbreaking work,” she stated. The ONE Campaign’s Africa lead reiterated that ONE Academy aims to make these tools available to young people. “Our goal is for every child in this room, and every young person following us online, to know that they hold the power in their hands and that their voice can change the world. ONE Academy puts the tools in their hands,” she added.

The platform offers free certification training to young Africans aged 18 to 35. It enables them to better understand the issues shaping their environment, acquire advocacy and leadership skills, and then use this knowledge to benefit their communities. Registration was available on-site via a QR code and with the support of the ONE Academy team.

For Mark Green, CEO of ONE Campaign, the choice of Dakar and the Youth Olympic Games period reflects a desire to bring culture, sport, and civic engagement closer together. He believes these two disciplines can unite young people across borders and linguistic differences. “The Youth Olympic Games are being hosted in Dakar, making it the first Olympic event ever held on African soil. This is a reminder of what young Africans already know: talent, ambition, and hope abound here. Sport and art have the rare power to channel and accelerate this hope. They transcend borders and languages, and show what is possible in today's world,” he said.