Namibia and City of Windhoek Hold Restitution Workshop on UNESCO Culture

News Namibia and City of Windhoek Hold Restitution Workshop on UNESCO Culture|2030 Indicators The Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture (MEIYSAC), the National Arts Council of Namibia and the City of Windhoek, in close collaboration with UNESCO, held a final restitution workshop on the UNESCO Culture|2030 Indicators on 4 and 5 August 2026 at the Avani Hotel in Windhoek. The workshop brought together 32 participants from national and local institutions and stakeholder organizations, including government, cultural institutions, academia, civil society and development partners. It presented the implementation results and demonstrated culture's contribution to sustainable development, while promoting results dissemination, policy action and discussions on future monitoring and data collection. The implementation in Namibia and Windhoek was launched in July 2025 by MEIYSAC and the City of Windhoek, in partnership with UNESCO and in collaboration with the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. It was made possible through the generous financial contribution of the European Union under the programme “Advancing evidence-based policies and actions and supporting policy making to enhance the contribution of creative sectors and industries to sustainable development.” The implementation succeeded in collecting culture-related data and establishing a foundation for stronger measurement systems to demonstrate culture's contribution to the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. This achievement resulted from collaboration among ministries, public institutions, local authorities, cultural organizations, civil society, academia and other stakeholders. Ms. Eunice Smith, Head of Office and UNESCO Representative to Namibia, welcomed participants and highlighted that the framework goes beyond data collection, providing an evidence-based approach to recognizing culture as a strategic driver of sustainable development, social cohesion and economic transformation. She emphasized that the Indicators' contribute across education, economic growth, innovation, inclusion, environmental sustainability and community resilience, and stressed that the validation workshop marks the beginning of continued monitoring and updating of culture-related data at national and local levels. H.E. Ms. Ana-Beatriz Martins, Ambassador of the European Union Delegation to Namibia, reaffirmed the EU's commitment to strengthening Namibia's cultural and creative sector through evidence-based policies. She highlighted cultural and creative industries as powerful drivers of economic growth, innovation and social cohesion, noting that unlocking their potential requires robust policies, effective institutions and reliable data, particularly on entrepreneurship, employment and opportunities for young people and women. Both the UNESCO Representative to Namibia and the Ambassador of the European Union to Namibia welcomed the inclusion of the City of Windhoek, noting that cities are where culture is created, experienced, and shared every day. Speaking on behalf of Mr. Mbumba Haitengela, Executive Director of MEIYSAC, Ms. M’kariko Amagulu, Director of Arts, delivered the Government’s welcoming message and highlighted Namibia’s commitment to positioning culture as a strategic driver of national development. She noted that the Sixth National Development Plan (NDP6) recognizes the contribution of culture and the creative industries to economic diversification, job creation, tourism, social cohesion and national identity. She also reaffirmed the Government’s intention to institutionalize cultural data collection and strengthen inter-agency collaboration. Mr. Moses Matyayi, Chief Executive Officer of the City of Windhoek, emphasized the City's strong interest in the implementation and its commitment to remain active in applying the UNESCO Culture|2030 Indicators. Mr. Christie Keulder, National Expert for Namibia, presented the national data tables and Culture Profile and guided participants through validation of results across the framework's thematic dimensions. Mr. Farai Mpfunya, UNESCO Regional Expert, presented key challenges, opportunities and findings, while Ms. Valentina Montalto, UNESCO International Expert, highlighted the data collection process and analysis. Following stakeholder exchanges, participants outlined policy recommendations based on the results. The workshop discussions will contribute to finalizing the National and Urban Reports on implementation in Namibia and Windhoek. The discussion also highlighted the need for stronger culture data systems, including sex-disaggregated data, to better demonstrate culture's contribution to Sustainable Development Goal 5 on Gender Equality. The meeting closed with remarks from Ms. Ana Georgia Sagum, Associate Project Officer at UNESCO for the Culture|2030 Indicators programme, who thanked participants, the national and local teams and stakeholders for their contributions. To learn more about the UNESCO Culture|2030 Indicators framework, please consult the following webpage: UNESCO Culture|2030 Indicators