BrytaAfrica has released a report titled The Story We Must Not Lose: What African Parents Are Saying about Language, History, and Identity.
The new report gives voice to a concern many African families carry quietly: that children may grow up knowing the world, but not knowing where they come from.
The report is based on BrytaAfrica’s 2026 Cultural Transmission Survey, which gathered responses from Africans on the continent and in the diaspora. The findings show that parents want more than cultural decoration. They want children to inherit language, history, names, stories, values, and a real sense of belonging. “African children do not only need access to the future. They need access to themselves.”
The survey found that 81.4% of respondents believe African language is essential to cultural identity, and 72.6% say it is very important that younger generations speak or understand their African mother tongue. Families also pointed to real barriers, including foreign-language dominance, parents speaking different languages at home, reduced daily use, and schools not giving enough space to African languages.
The concern around history is even stronger. 85.8% of respondents said younger generations are not learning enough about African history and culture. Parents want children to learn a fuller story of Africa – not only slavery, colonisation, or struggle, but also African kingdoms, leaders, folktales, philosophies, inventions, and contemporary African excellence.
“Children’s Day is not only a time to celebrate children; it is also a time to ask what we are passing on to them,”said Rita Abiodun, Co-founder of BrytaAfrica. “African children deserve access to the languages, stories,histories, and cultural knowledge that help them understand who they are, where they come from, and how they belong.”
The report calls for simple but deliberate action across homes, schools, media, and technology. It urges families to make African languages and stories part of everyday life, schools to teach African history with depth and dignity, and media and technology builders to create joyful, high-quality African content children can see, hear,and love.
