Manifest Fellowship, the outreach arm of Phaneroo Ministries, has taken its performing arts platform, Manifest Got Gifts (MGG), directly to university campuses for the first time ahead of the fifth edition of the Global Inter-university Conference (GIC).
MGG was launched at last year’s GIC. This year, the auditions are being held at Catch the Fire, a series of mini-conferences held on Fridays at different universities in the build-up to the main conference.
Makerere University, Kyambogo University, St. Lawrence University and Kampala International University (KIU) have already hosted MGG, with more campuses to be announced on Manifest Fellowship’s social media pages. So far, singers, actors, spoken word poets and dancers have taken the stage.
The platform grows out of a simple observation: many gifted young people are searching for purpose. Drawing on the biblical assurance that believers have been blessed with every spiritual blessing, Phaneroo, through Manifest Fellowship, seeks to help students recognise their talents as part of who they are called to be, and to give them a platform to develop them.
Each performer gets between three and five minutes before a panel of seasoned professionals from the ministry drawn from different creative fields. They are judged on technical ability, growth potential, audience engagement, stage presence and confidence, among other criteria.
Five winners are selected from each campus and advance to the grand finale at GIC on Saturday, 14 November 2026 at Phaneroo Grounds, Naguru, from 9:00 a.m., where they will perform before students from universities within and beyond Uganda.
The overall MGG winner will take home a cash prize of UGX 1 million, together with mentorship.
Speaking about the vision behind the initiative, Apostle Grace said: “Phaneroo’s vision is to transform nations and impact generations. The will of God is for the Child of God to have dominion in all things. If you are going to sing, be the best singer there is. Not everyone is called to the pulpit; many of you will change the world through music, or through leadership and innovation.”
MGG is one expression of a ministry whose work extends well beyond the pulpit. Phaneroo holds weekly fellowships at universities across the country, and runs prisons and hospital ministries, among other initiatives. Manifest Fellowship carries the same conviction into student life: that serving people means investing in who they can become.
MGG runs alongside the Manifest Kickstarter Innovation Challenge, which backs student entrepreneurs.
GIC is free to attend and open to all students. It is organised in coordination with police and other security agencies to ensure safety and smooth traffic flow, and free transport is provided from selected universities and stages across the country.