A two-day multistakeholder workshop in Gaborone has laid the groundwork for Botswana’s first comprehensive mapping of the digital environment for its Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs), opening new opportunities to strengthen skills, market access, investment and evidence-informed cultural policy.
UNESCO, in partnership with the Ministry of Sport and Arts and the Botswana National Commission for UNESCO, convened the Multistakeholder Consultation Workshop on 25 and 26 August 2026 under the UNESCO-KFIT Digital Creativity Lab III Project, supported by the Republic of Korea.
The workshop brought together representatives from government, academia, cultural and creative industries, development partners and creative practitioners to develop a shared understanding of the opportunities and challenges shaping Botswana’s creative economy.
Despite the country’s rich creative talent, innovation and entrepreneurial potential, stakeholders highlighted persistent challenges, including limited market access, digital skills gaps, inadequate sector data, barriers to financing and policy frameworks that need to keep pace with rapid technological change.
At the heart of the initiative is the recognition that effectively supporting Botswana’s Cultural and Creative Industries requires a clearer understanding of the sector, its actors, opportunities and constraints.
Artists, cultural practitioners and creative entrepreneurs generate cultural, social and economic value across Botswana, yet significant parts of the sector remain insufficiently documented. This can limit their visibility in policy, investment and development planning.
As one participant observed, “If culture is for everyone, then the evidence that informs cultural policies must also come from everyone.”
The national mapping exercise will therefore go beyond collecting statistics. It will seek to capture the experiences of artists building livelihoods from their talent, entrepreneurs looking for new markets, communities safeguarding living heritage and institutions working to create an enabling environment for creativity.
The evidence generated will help inform targeted investments, market-access interventions and skills-development programmes. It will also contribute to the development of an accredited capacity-building curriculum in partnership with the University of Botswana.
Speaking during the workshop, UNESCO Regional Advisor for Culture, Elena Constantinou, emphasized the importance of keeping creatives at the centre of the process.
Behind every response is an artist, a creative entrepreneur, a cultural practitioner or an organisation. The purpose of this mapping is not simply to collect data, but to better understand the people and realities behind it, so that the evidence generated can inform practical action, strengthen market access, guide skills development and contribute to a more enabling environment for Botswana’s cultural and creative industries.
