From palava huts to TikTok: How Liberians are preserving their past
Young Liberians are turning to digital platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and podcasts to document and share the country’s history. The civil wars that lasted from 1989 to 2003 disrupted traditional oral transmission, prompting a new generation to preserve memories online. Initiatives like Archive Liberia, founded by Bilphena Decontee Yahwon, are leading this digital preservation effort.
- ▪Liberia’s two civil wars caused massive loss of life and broke the intergenerational chain of oral history transmission.
- ▪Elders historically kept family and cultural stories alive, but urban migration and war have limited their reach.
- ▪Digital tools now allow stories to be shared instantly across the diaspora, effectively creating a modern ‘palava hut.’
- ▪Archive Liberia combines research, archives, and public storytelling to reclaim and contextualize Liberia’s past.
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NewsFrom palava huts to TikTok: How Liberians are preserving their pastFrom podcasts to TikTok, young Liberians are using digital platforms to keep history alive and challenge old narratives.SaveClick here to share on social mediashare-nodesSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoParticipants gather for a film screening as part of an Archive Liberia event [Bilphena Decontee Yahwon/Al Jazeera]By Dounard bondoPublished On 25 Jul 202625 Jul 2026Monrovia, Liberia – For generations, Liberia’s history lived in the voices of its elders, carried through conversations, ceremonies and community gatherings.Today, those stories are finding new audiences across TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, podcasts and digital archives.Young Liberians are documenting their history,…
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