DON’T STOP TALKING ABOUT CONGO

Gaetan Mbwete loves God, law, real estate and music. He is a resident of The Hague, Dutch, but also proudly Congolese. From that combination of identities, he actively commits himself to the Congolese community and social justice, both in the Netherlands and internationally.

As chairman of the foundation Wij Zijn Congolezen (Wij zijn Congolezen), Gaetan is known as an activist, organiser and connector within the Congolese diaspora. He organises demonstrations, writes memos and opinion pieces, and speaks out about human rights, inequality and the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. His goal is to be a voice for people who are often not heard.

Chihiro has been working since 2009 on decolonial climate justice through film, music, activism, writing, speaking, installations and playful workshops. She enjoys collaborating for Indigenous rights, land back, restoration and healing. Chihiro is co-founder of Stichting Aralez. In 2022 she received the peace dove award from PAX for her longstanding dedication and impact in introducing and embedding anti-racism in the environmental movement. She is currently developing a performance about making peace in a militarised world.

Mitchell Esajas (1988, NL) studied Msc. Business Administration and Msc. Social and Cultural Anthropology at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He works as an independent researcher focusing on Black and Surinamese emancipation movements and legacies of slavery and colonialism. He aims to tie theory with practice through various community projects in the areas of education, cultural heritage, diversity and sustainability. Esajas is the co-founder and co-director of The Black Archives (2015) a cultural center with the mission to make erased Black history more visible and accessible. It contains a unique collection of books, documents and artefacts documenting the history of black people and black resistance in the Dutch context. Based on the collection they develop exhibitions and public activities with artists, activists and scholars. In 2018 they won the Amsterdam Art Prize for the exhibition ‘Black & Revolutionary: the story of Hermina and Otto Huiswoud’. The organization has played an active role in campaigning for apologies and reparations from the Dutch state which formally apologized for its role in slavery in 2022. They developed the exhibition and campaign ‘No Healing, Without Repair’. Futhermore, Esajas was co-founder of activist movement Kick Out Zwarte (KOZP, 2014) which played a key role in fighting against the national blackface tradition Saint Nicolas and black pete and sparked a new wave of anti-racist activism across the Netherlands.

Rapper Bartofso, one of the most unique voices in the Netherlands and also known as Akkabouz, has established himself in a short time as a fixture within the Dutch hip-hop scene. With a versatile sound, one of the most recognisable voices in the country and his ability to effortlessly switch between multiple languages and flows, he manages to distinguish himself time and time again. Community plays a major role in his career. Bartofso actively commits himself to young people in The Hague by creating opportunities and providing guidance. Where he himself once lacked that support, he now wants to use his success to inspire the next generation.

Rising star Bryan Mumvudi Gazambo (Bryan MG for short) grew up in a multilingual family. His youth took place in the vibrant city of Ghent, where he blends his Congolese and Belgian background with influences from the Caribbean and Afro genres to create his own unique sound. With a mix of Dutch, French and English, this singer and rapper brings an infectious blend of Hip-Hop, Pop and R&B.

Tresor Muaku Mageste is a Congolese artist and musician known worldwide for his powerful tenor voice and his unique fusion of traditional and modern Congolese music genres. With performances in the Netherlands, Belgium, Congo, and Canada, and collaborations with various bands and musicians, Muaku has made a name for himself not only as a performer but also as a bridge-builder between cultures. His lyrics tackle subjects such as joy, family, spirituality, and love for his homeland.

Daniëlle Zawadi (1999) is a writer and spoken word artist. In her work, she highlights her bicultural background as a Dutch person born in Congo. She writes about themes such as friendship and the inner world of Gen Z. She also explores how societal and personal intersections come together in stories about climate, historical awareness and the exploitation of the rest of the world by the West. By critically reflecting on her role as a poet, she released the free poetry collection Ik kan eigenlijk niet op deze manier werken on Africa Day in 2025, an attempt to make poetry accessible in times of an empathy crisis. Zawadi is the founder of Het Zwarte Schaap, a platform for word art and spoken literature. She has won several awards, including the Black Indigenous People of Color Voice Award in 2020 and the THBE culture impact prize for literature in 2025. She has toured the country with multiple poetry performances and her work has appeared in various literary magazines. She currently works as a literary programme maker for, among others, Poetry International, Writers Unlimited and Crossing Border.

Born in Kin la Belle and shaped between Congo, Amsterdam-Zuidoost, Rotterdam and the many worlds in between, she has moved through life as a bridge-builder from the very beginning. Trained as a biochemical engineer and experienced in marketing, education, trade union work, entrepreneurship and community work, she is a rare combination of scientific sharpness and depth, social awareness and Ubuntu, and African spiritual grounding.

“Change perspective and a new world will reveal itself” is the common thread running through the career of Angèle Mayimona Nascimento.

As founder of The Triple Queen and as a daughter of the continent, she speaks with deep commitment about both the richness and the pain of Congo’s soil. Her core message: blood minerals are not raw materials, but stories, people and future. “Let your action have the power of a baobab seed” is not a slogan, but her approach to life. During Don’t Stop Talking About Congo, she brings that seed-sowing power to the table.

Sefora Sam, also known as “Sesa”, is a spoken word poet, author and performer based in Antwerp, Belgium. She is known for her sincere, vulnerable and honest introspection through poetry. Sesa’s performances offer an immersive, almost meditative experience, where her melodious voice meets live music.

She is the author of the poetry collections The Thrill of Victory (2016), The Break Free (2020), and the workbook Rose Quartz (2019). In 2022, Sesa founded Break Free Babes, a community for women centred around collective healing through artistic practice and opening up conversations about taboos. The initiative emphasises the shared nature of healing and the power of sisterhood.

In 2025, her first poetic performance, (out)growing pains, premiered — a multidisciplinary work weaving together spoken word and music to explore generational pain, the layers of healing, and breathing as a symbol of reclamation.