What if your next paycheque came from a 60-second video, a podcast recorded in your bedroom, or a cooking tutorial filmed on your phone? For a growing number of South Africans, this is no longer just a possibility, it is a career.
June 16, 1976, will forever be remembered for the courageous actions taken by the youth to confront the injustice of Apartheid. The students of Soweto took to the streets to protest the imposition of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction, and their bravery ignited a fire that would eventually help dismantle an oppressive regime.
CaribbeanTales Media Group has entered a new partnership between the Cross Continental Forum (CCF) and the South African Cultural Observatory (SACO), as CCF expands into a year-long international lab connecting Black and Global Majority producers across Africa, the Caribbean, Canada, the UK, Europe, and the wider diaspora.
EUNIC – European Union National Institutes for Culture has launched the second edition of the Spaces of Culture call for proposals. Part of the Africa-Europe Partnerships for Culture programme (European Commission, DG INTPA), the call will support seven new cultural relations projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. The 2026 call focuses on projects that: • Are based on equal partnerships and local ownership • Bring together local organisations, EUNIC members, and EU Delegations • Promote dialogue, co-creation, and joint capacity building
Across South Africa, festivals have evolved into far more than moments of entertainment; they are engines of economic activity, cultural preservation, and social cohesion.
This year’s Human Rights Month coincided with the celebration of 30 years of the adoption of the Constitution.
Maps. Masterclasses. Measurement. Meaning. March. This quarter has been all about activating the research trove and expertise of the South African Cultural Observatory and levelling up in the dissemination of our data and insights.
South Africa’s cultural, creative and sports industries (CCI&S) are far more than platforms for artistic expression and entertainment. They are a growing economic force that contributes meaningfully to national development, job creation, and global cultural influence.
This delivers the most complete economic mapping of the sector to date, based on official Statistics South Africa datasets and internationally recognised accounting standards.
For decades, the Goethe-Institut, alongside other national cultural institutes, has characterized its activities as “cultural exchange.” However, the adequacy of this metaphor warrants critical scrutiny, as it may not fully capture the actual mandate of such agencies. Cultures are not commodities to be exchanged or replaced; rather, the primary objective of these initiatives is to foster the acquisition of new knowledge, perspectives, and attitudes.Call for Proposals:
As 2025 draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on a year that not only celebrated a decade of the South African Cultural Observatory’s existence, but also one that redefined what our next ten years will stand for.
The African Journal of Creative Economy (AJCE), partnered with SACO for the 2025 international conference, and to keep the dialogue going and share the insights from the conference more widely, they invite speakers to contribute their work to the African Journal of Creative Economy.
