Sam Brakarsh is a cultural strategist, policy advocate, and theatre maker from Zimbabwe. He serves as the Africa Regional Representative for Artists at Risk Connection / PEN America, where he leads the Censorship Reform Program, advancing artistic freedom legislation across 11 countries. Sam chairs the Pan-African Summit on Artistic Freedom (Zanzibar, 2025 & Ethiopia, 2026), and cofounded the Chikukwa Research Trust and Culture Centre in Zimbabwe. His cultural advocacy includes developing a residency network for artists-at-risk with Res Artis International, coordinating the AMANI: Creative Defense Network, advising the NYC Perelman Arts Centre’s Democracy Cycle Awards, serving on the Social Prescribing Cultural Design Team for the New York Federal Reserve, and sitting on the board of Savanna Arts Trust. As a Theatre of the Oppressed practitioner, he has led programs across Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America using participatory theatre to influence social networks, law, and policy.