Namibian voice echoes at arts summit in South Korea
Namibia’s creative sector took a step on the world stage at the 10th World Summit on Arts and Culture, held in Seoul, South Korea, last week.
Under the theme, ‘Sustainable Futures: Creativity, Care, and Connectivity’, the summit welcomed hundreds of international participants, from cultural policymakers to artists and financiers, including the voices of the overlooked.
The National Arts Council of Namibia (NACN) represented Namibia, demonstrating the country’s commitment to global cultural exchange and domestic creative empowerment.
NACN administrator Gretta Gaspar describes the summit as “a moment of visibility and reflection for Namibia, where attendance marked determination to bring to light the unique realities of the Namibian creative ecosystem, specifically our artists in under-resourced and rural settings”.
Gaspar notes that Namibia was not a mere observer, but an active participant – attending panel discussions, strategy roundtables, and bilateral meetings.
She says one of the core messages that was brought to the summit included the need for sustainable arts funding in Namibia.
“We pressed the needs of infrastructure gaps, training gaps, and access gaps to finance – especially for women, youth, and rural creatives,” Gaspar adds.
The interventions have drawn attention from other global institutions eager to engage with emerging creative economies, she notes.
Gaspar further adds that some of the outcomes have been talks likely to lead to formalised partnerships in ventures such as artist residencies, digital content production, and intellectual property protection.
Namibia’s focus on equity and inclusiveness was the highlight in Seoul.
Entering into the country’s ongoing review of the National Arts Fund Act, Gaspar spoke about policy shifts for decentralising arts support.
“International lessons we learn should find expression in our realities. We want to localise these lessons for daily application – not just in Windhoek, but at Oshakati, Rundu, Keetmanshoop, and in every creative corner of Namibia,” she says.
Gaspar says the most powerful impact of the summit may have been the sense of solidarity among Global South countries, which was revived.
“There was a very strong sense of South-South cooperation. We met with peers from Africa, Asia, and Latin America to discuss co-productions and shared learning platforms,” she notes.
Those connections are already being sought after with drafts of agreements for youth programming and rural artist development.
She also notes that countries, such as South Korea, already include arts and culture in their national development plans.
“We return with examples of what can be achieved when the creative economy is given policy space to flourish,” Gaspar says.
She adds that these lessons are already having an impact on how the NACN thinks about digital inclusion and mobile training platforms for artists in Namibia.
For local artists, its future dividend is already being mapped.
Gaspar ensures that the experience and connections made will roll over into regional outreach programmes, more diversified funding calls, and exposure for Namibian artists to tap into international platforms.
“We take the voices of our artists with us where we go. This meeting once again confirmed our mission to serve the industry with vision, based on local needs but inspired by global solidarity,” she concludes.
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