During the week leading up to the festival, and in partnership with Zanzibar’s Dhow Countries Music Academy (DCMA), we offer a unique and treasured opportunity for local and international artists to meet and collaborate. Invited participants experiment, develop, and rehearse new compositions, or creatively reinterpret songs from their existing repertoire.

Since its inception in 2004, Swahili Encounters has brought together artists from across the African continent and its diasporas. The project continues to make a powerful impact by strengthening artistic networks and building sustainable creative infrastructure.

For Sauti za Busara 2026, the Swahili Encounters platform will feature artists including Ahmada Smis (Comoros/France), Kaya Byinshii (Rwanda), Irene Labdi (Kenya), and Hassan Mahenge, Eva Furaha Mwanjela, Khamis Selah, Ibrahim Chuchu, Adam Kwilemba, and Upendo Manas (Tanzania)