JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa’s creative economy policies will shape the lives of today’s young creatives for decades to come, yet few young people are involved in policy processes. Now a pilot project: the Creative Youth Policy Lab run by Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) with the support of the British Council, is connecting young people into the policy conversation. Eleven emerging creatives stepped up to take an active role in bringing fresh perspectives and young people’s voices to the table for the first iteration
The Creative Youth Policy Lab was designed to give youths under 35a set of tools and the connections to land their vision for how government could enable people to live and work better. The twelve-week programme held both online and in person, resulted in two policy proposals, Language Is Infrastructure: Officialising Nama as South Africa’s 13th Official Language is aimed at addressing language recognition for the Nama. The second proposal, Creative Workers Are Workers Too: Building a Formalised and Professionalised Framework for Creative Workers with Relevant Social Protection, examines the working conditions of people across the cultural and creative industries.
The Creative Youth Policy Lab culminated in the cohort attending a full day at the Creative Futures Africa Summit 2026, an event that saw creative leaders cross sector collaborators gathering in Johannesburg to focus on how the creative economy can be unlocked for business, Policy was a key part of the discussion and the Creative Youth Policy Lab were called on to present their policy briefings to BASA CEO, Beth Arendse, UNESCO Cultural Avril Joffe and British Council Deputy Country Director, Linda Khumalo. The group will also debrief with an official from the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture who will accept the policies on their behalf.
Facilitated by Tumi Moroeng, the cohort experienced an active process of learning about the policy process and then drafting their ideas and proposals through mock policy hearings, stakeholder mapping, active listening, future-scenario exercises and collaborative policy drafting. These activities helped participants understand how policy is developed and how they can contribute to decision-making processes. Moroeng said, “This lab focuses on mobilising young emerging creatives into a programme that enables them to be at the forefront of not only designing policy statements but also them presenting those policy statements. We had a nine week virtual immersion where they were introduced into different topics within policy making, for example, how to define a problem statement, how to find evidence and to define that evidence, and meet-ups to really work through the presentation and arguments. This programme is a game changer for youth empowerment.”
Mzoxolo Vimba, a participant in the Creative Youth Policy Lab, said “Being part of the Creative Youth Policy Lab is an opportunity to actively contribute to solutions and understand how change happens. It has given me insight into how I can make a difference within my sphere of influence, while creating space to engage directly with decisionmakers”. Other delegates felt they had shifted their thinking about the role policy can play and the importance of using it as the frame for implementation.
For BASA, the programme was a pilot into addressing the need to create strong leadership and agency withing the creative economy. Says BASA’s Programme Manager, Nomkhosi Houghton, “Young people need a route into the rooms that matter, and a reason to stay in it once recommendations are being delivered. Policy work is a commitment and not an overnight process, once the policy has been considered, ongoing policy dialogue may arise, and accountability becomes an important next step.”
The programme was supported by the British Council who play a key role in the policy space globally. They have developed a free online learning platform for creatives called So Creative eLearning. The self-paced platform includes a module on Policy. Says the British Council’s Deputy Country Director, Linda Khumalo, “Policy is often seen as a very high-level government stakeholder function but this programme seeks to work with young people who are part of the industry so that they are actively participating in policy, and they can actually see how policy impacts their work within the creative industry and how they can make a difference in the direction of the sector.”
Read the policy proposals: Click here
For media enquiries:
Sinenhlanhla Mdiya
Marketing & Communications
sinenhlanhla@basa.co.za
ENDS
About Business and Arts South Africa (BASA)
Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) connects business and the arts to unlock investment, strengthen partnerships and create measurable impact across South Africa’s creative economy. As The Connector and Builder, BASA strengthens the relationships, knowledge and systems that enable meaningful business and arts partnerships.
About the British Council
The British Council is the UK’s international culture and education organisation. We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. We do this through our work in arts and culture, education and the English language. We work with people in over 200 countries and territories. In 2024–25 we reached 600 million people.
