Sam Brakarsh is the Africa Regional Representative for Artists at Risk Connection (ARC), coordinator of the AMANI: Africa Creative Defense Network, and co-chair of the upcoming PANAF Summit on Artistic Freedom. He is from Zimbabwe where he cofounded the Chikukwa Research Trust and Culture Centre, focusing on sustainable governance, political theatre, and environmental justice. Sam is a Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) practitioner, having established a TO network in Zimbabwe as well as conducting trainings in Ghana, Kenya, the United States, the Philippines, and Palestine. He has a background in health justice and previously worked with the Clinton Health Access Initiative, supporting the Global Health Workforce team on COVID-19 response and Community Health Worker system strengthening in seven countries across Sub-Saharan Africa. He also sits on the Mind and Life Institute’s Advisory Council, where he serves on the review and design committee for their international Changemaker Grant. Sam is a Dalai Lama Fellow and holds a B.A. from Yale University and an M.Sc. from Oxford University.