Exploring the Future of Creativity: Insights from the 2025 South African Cultural Observatory Conference

WHO owns creativity in an age of artificial intelligence? Can creative workers sustain themselves in platform economies that extract more value than they return?  

How do we build cultural industries that centre equity rather than replicate colonial patterns of extraction? 

And what does the future of creativity look like when shaped by African voices rather than Western frameworks? These urgent questions will take centre stage at the 2025 South African Cultural Observatory (SACO) International Conference. 

Set to take place on 4-5 November 2025 at Cape Town’s DHL Stadium, the conference will convene over 250 academics, policymakers, creative professionals, government and industry leaders from across the globe under the theme “Creative & Sports Economy Futures – Perspectives, Policies, and Practices for Tomorrow”.

“As we stand at the intersection of technological disruption, shifting global power dynamics, and unprecedented creative innovation, this conference couldn't be timelier,” said SACO Executive Director Unathi Lutshaba.  

Since its establishment in 2015 by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) – functioning as a type of StatsSA for the cultural and sports economy – SACO provides essential data and insights that drive policy and investment decisions. 

The conference will bring together the brightest minds to envision what tomorrow's creative and sports economies look like from an African perspective that has too often been marginalised in these global conversations, added Lutshaba. 

The conference will feature eleven thematic tracks addressing critical issues including human-AI collaboration in creativity, the political economy of cultural and creative industries, creative work in the digital age, copyright evolution, and sustainable growth strategies.  

In 2023 the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture expanded SACO’s mandate to map the economic impact of sports in South Africa – a nod to sports as a cultural force.

“Sport is national culture. It is collective creativity. It is the golden economy,” said Dr. Cynthia Khumalo, Director-General, Department of Sport, Arts and Culture. 

“When we talk about the creative economy, we cannot separate the cultural power of sport from arts and heritage.” 

“Sports drives broadcasting, digital media, apparel, live events, and generates billions in economic activity, contributing around 1% to our national GDP. It shapes our national identity, tells our stories, and employs thousands of South Africans. This conference recognises that truth and positions us to harness sports’ full potential as a driver of economic growth and social transformation and a core part of our culture,” she said. 

The 2025 conference represents a maturation of SACO’s role from national observatory to international thought leaders, particularly as conversations about creative economies increasingly recognise the importance of non-Western perspectives and models.

“For too long, discussions about the future of creative economies have been dominated by Western frameworks and assumptions,” Dr. Khumalo said. “This conference, hosted on African soil during South Africa’s G20 presidency, is an opportunity to centre African experiences, innovations, and solutions and lead the continental conversation.” 

The two-day gathering will open with a keynote address on the future of creative economies, followed by high-level panels on “The Changing Economics of Creativity” and “Between Human and Machine: Navigating Creative Tech Futures”. 

Day Two will feature sessions on the gig economy, creative labour and wellbeing, economic music migrancy, and digital piracy, alongside workshops on artist health advocacy, creative entrepreneurship, and education for future creative work.

Innovative session formats will include PechaKucha presentations, policy labs for stakeholder co-creation of recommendations, live podcasting, and collaborative workshops developing scenario-based strategies. 

For more information, visit https://www.southafricanculturalobservatory.org.za/2025saco- conference/

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