To those who did not achieve the results they hoped for, or who have not been accepted into any tertiary institution, we say this without hesitation: your life is not over, your intelligence is not measured by marks, and your future is not owned by a broken system. There are many powerful paths outside formal academia.

South Africa has public development institutions meant to fund, support and empower young people to become owners, producers and job creators.

We urge young people to apply to public development institutions created to support youth enterprise, including the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic), the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (SEFA), the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA), the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA), and the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF). These institutions exist to support your initiatives, not to exclude you.

Young people must boldly pursue entrepreneurship across strategic sectors, including:

• Restaurants, bakeries, food trucks and catering services

• Bed and breakfasts, lodges and township tourism experiences

• Manufacturing, fabrication, furniture making and agro-processing

• Hair salons, barber shops, beauty spas and wellness centers

• Retail shops, spaza formalisation and wholesale distribution

• Fuel stations, car washes and auto-services

• Butcheries, cold storage and meat processing

We place urgent emphasis on AGRICULTURE, FOOD SECURITY AND THE OCEANS ECONOMY. A nation that cannot feed itself cannot be free. Opportunities exist in crop and livestock farming, poultry and vegetable production, community food gardens, agroprocessing, fishing cooperatives, aquaculture, seafood processing, marine services and marine tourism.

We further encourage the youth to enter the creative and media economy. Through the NFVF and MDDA, young people must fund and produce their own films, documentaries, series and digital content. So much is happening in our communities—stories of struggle, resilience, corruption, innovation and hope. Tell your own stories. Document your reality. Control the narrative.

This must be a year where the youth irritate the government through consciousness and action. Not violence—but pressure. Not silence—but organization. Govern without being in power. Monitor local government, attend council meetings, demand service delivery, expose corruption, mobilize communities, and insist on your constitutional rights.

We call on young people to become activists, organizers and community leaders. Get involved in civic life and politics not for positions, but to fight for housing, land, education, jobs and dignity. Remember: eligible citizens have the right to apply for government housing and basic services—these are rights, not favors.

We also encourage young people to travel within South Africa, across Africa and abroad to learn skills, build networks and return with knowledge to rebuild our communities. Exposure sharpens consciousness; isolation sustains dependency.

This statement is deliberately different. It is a call to revive the fighting spirit, critical thinking and self-belief of the youth. The system will not save you unless you organize, demand and act.

Should you apply for government or development assistance and receive no support, you may contact the Azania Movement with proof of application and non-assistance. We will engage, escalate and advocate.

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The two-day gathering, taking place from 4–5 November 2025 at DHL Stadium, will bring together academics, policymakers, creative professionals, and industry leaders to explore critical questions shaping the future of creativity in an era defined by artificial intelligence, digital disruption, and rapid cultural transformation.

SACO Executive Director Unathi Lutshaba said the conference could not be more timely:

“As we stand at the intersection of technological disruption, shifting global power dynamics, and unprecedented creative innovation, this conference will bring the brightest minds together to envision tomorrow’s creative and sports economies from an African perspective.”

Since its establishment in 2015, SACO, often described as a “Stats SA for the cultural and sports economy,” has played a pivotal role in mapping the contribution of the creative and sports sectors to South Africa’s GDP, which currently stands at around 3.9%, employing more than one million people nationwide.

Uniting Sports and Creativity

This year’s conference expands SACO’s focus to include the sports economy, following the department’s 2023 decision to recognise sports as a cultural force with significant creative and economic impact.

DSAC Director-General Dr. Cynthia Khumalo emphasised this link:

“Sport is national culture. It is collective creativity. It is the golden economy. Sports drive broadcasting, fashion, entertainment, and digital media, contributing about 1% to GDP. We cannot talk about culture and creativity without sport.”

A special panel on “At the Intersection of Sport, Arts, and Culture” will headline Day One, exploring how play, performance, and national identity converge in the creative economy.

African Voices at the Centre of Global Debate

With South Africa holding the G20 Presidency in 2025, the SACO conference is positioned as a defining platform for African leadership in global creative economy discourse.

“For too long, the future of creativity has been debated through Western frameworks,” Dr. Khumalo added. “Hosting this conversation on African soil allows us to centre African experiences, innovations, and solutions.”

The programme includes eleven thematic tracks covering AI collaboration in creativity, copyright evolution, digital labour, creative entrepreneurship, and equitable policy models for the next decade.

Why Cape Town? Why DHL Stadium?

The DHL Stadium, an iconic symbol of sport, culture, and global events, was chosen as the venue for its symbolic and practical resonance. “It represents exactly what we’re discussing,” said Ms. Lutshaba. “The intersection of sport, culture, creativity, and economic impact.”

Cape Town, one of Africa’s most vibrant cultural capitals, will serve as the backdrop for exploring inclusive and sustainable creative economies across the continent.

Programme Highlights

 • Keynote Address: The Future of Creative Economies

 • Panel Discussions: The Changing Economics of Creativity; Between Human and Machine: Navigating Creative Tech Futures

 • Day Two Tracks: Creative Labour and Wellbeing, Gig Economy, Digital Piracy, and Economic Music Migrancy

 • Interactive Sessions: PechaKucha presentations, policy labs, and live podcasting sessions

About SACO

A project of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, SACO operates as South Africa’s national research centre for cultural and creative industries data and insights. Hosted by Nelson Mandela University in partnership with the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Rhodes University, it provides critical evidence for national planning and policy implementation under the Creative and Cultural Industries Masterplan.

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