LSFVCB partners PlotWeaver to unveil maiden Lagos Youths Storytelling competition

From left: Member, Board of Advisors, PlotWeaver, Noah Ibrahim; Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, Lagos State Film and Video Censor Board (LSFVCB), Mrs Adebukola Agbaminoja and Project Lead, Lagos Youth Storytelling Competition, Oteme Oyo at the event

The Lagos State government, in partnership with PlotWeaver, an innovative AI-powered end-to-end storytelling and film production platform, has concluded plans to launch its first Youths Storytelling competition scheduled to hold in Lagos.

The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, Lagos State Film and Video Censor Board (LSFVCB), Mrs Adebukola Agbaminoja, made this known at a recent press briefing held at the board’s Ikosi-Magodo, Lagos office.

According to the LSFVCB boss, the competition is aimed at nurturing the creative talent of youths between the ages of 13 and 20 years through the heart of storytelling.

The competition, she said, will also showcase the state’s rich cultural heritage to the world.

“As the Lagos State Film and Video Censors Board, we are thrilled to announce a groundbreaking initiative aimed at nurturing the creative talent of our youth through the heart of storytelling.

“In collaboration with PlotWeavers, we are excited to introduce a storytelling competition specifically designed for students aged 13 to 20 years.

“We recognise that storytelling is not just an art form, but a powerful medium for self-expression and cultural reflection.

“This initiative seeks to ignite passion for storytelling among our youths, providing them with a platform to explore their imagination and share their unique narratives.

“We believe that this competition will pave the way for a new narrative landscape in Lagos State, encouraging fresh perspectives and innovating storytelling methods”, Agbaminoja said.

She added that the competition goes beyond traditional writing contests, as it leverages the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for storytelling which serve as tools for engagement, encouraging young minds to imagine bold futures while reinforcing values such as discipline, confidence and purpose.

“The Lagos State Government is deeply committed to fostering creativity among our young people.

“In an age dominated by technology, it is imperative that we harness these tools to inspire and guide our adolescents in developing their artistic voices.

“We invite parents, guidance, school authorities, teachers, and most importantly our students to participate in these transformative initiatives during the upcoming holiday.

“Your involvement is crucial in nurturing the next generation of storytellers who will contribute to the rich cultural tapestry of Lagos State and beyond.

“Together let us cultivate true art form from the minds of our adolescents, empowering them to express their creativity and share their future through the stories they tell”, she added

Speaking on the use of Artificial Intelligence to misinform as well as improper use of content, Agbaminoja assured that the agency is committed to regulating the use and dissemination of content across platforms.

“This agency regulates content and we do not take kindly to misinformation or improper use of content dissemination.

“And so the target, the purpose for this initiative, one of the very important purposes is to catch them young, to promote creativity within our youth.

“And in promoting creativity, the essence of creativity within the youth is to ensure that they grow up with the right narrative.

“They develop content that expresses them as individuals in the right way, how you want to sell yourself, how you want to sell your country, how you want to sell your state.

“We’re a product of what we hear, what we see and what we do. So if what you’re generating is something that will give you negative feedback, yes, I know it’s been a challenge in regulatory, especially film and video regulation.

“It’s been a challenge because they say bad news or things sell, they say sex sells, and you want to do nudity, you want to do things that are not culturally viable in our own country. You want to start doing it because you feel it’s selling in other Western countries. And we still put our feet down and say no”.

Speaking on the partnership, Member, Board of Advisors, PlotWeaver, Noah Ibrahim, explained that the initiative goes beyond winning the storytelling competition.

According to him, it will serve as a platform for young Nigerians to express and explore their artistic voice.

“PlotWeaver is an AI-powered platform that helps storytellers. So, a lot of content that is going on social media today, a lot of young people who are looking to become the next big stars, they can use this platform to improve their story and tell a better story for Nigerians and for Africans”.

Ibrahim added that more information about the guidelines and criteria for the Lagos Youths Story Telling Competition will be made known on the website as soon as it is launched.

In his own submission, the Project Lead, Lagos Youth Storytelling Competition, Oteme Oyo, said that PlotWeaver had developed a specific tool for the competition called ‘Story Checker’.

According to him, Story Checker essentially enables a quick evaluation of stories for quality, cultural relevance and several other metrics outlined to develop and find the next big stories that are not just relevant to the society, but also give young people a sense of identity in Nigeria, and most especially in Lagos.

“The wonderful thing about it is that it’s going to be happening during the holidays, so the young people will have a lot of time to research their stories, build their stories up. And at the end of this, the winning story is going to be developed, going from story to the screen.

He revealed that the stories sent in by participants will be processed and selected via the Plotweaver platform.

“So, it’s now going to enter the PlotWeaver system, which is an AI tool that enables the production processes to evaluate the stories, making them culturally relevant, making them commercially viable, but also creating a production process.

“So, it is the next, or actually the biggest thing in storytelling in the world today, and we want to use this opportunity to showcase it”, Oyo stated.