15 Sep 2026

Creatives in the North West District have been equipped with skills to access international funding opportunities and develop competitive grant proposals.

The workshop, a collaboration between the National Arts Council of Botswana (NACB) and Goethe-Institut, was intended to expose creatives to international funding opportunities while equipping them with the skills required to prepare and submit grant applications.

Chairperson of the NACB Board of Directors, Prince Monna, said the Council had identified Botswana as one of the countries recording the lowest number of applications for international grants compared with the six Southern African countries targeted by some funding programmes.

He said the realisation had prompted the Council and Goethe-Institut to bring the training closer to creatives to simplify the grant application process, clarify funding requirements and equip practitioners with the knowledge needed to successfully apply for available opportunities.

“These funds could help our creative industry to flourish, hence the need to capacitate our creatives to enable them to grow,” he said.

He further said the workshop was also intended to help creatives understand the 11 Heritage Narrative Clusters and identify the cluster that best corresponded with their artistic practice.

Intellectual property expert, Bathusi Lesolobe, emphasised the importance of understanding the requirements of a funding opportunity before submitting an application.

Lesolobe cautioned participants against treating a grant call as a suggestion, explaining that it should instead be understood as a specification that clearly outlined what the funder was seeking.

He urged creatives to carefully read and understand each call before applying, saying this would enable them to determine whether their artistic practice and proposed project met the requirements.

Among the opportunities highlighted during the workshop were the African-European Partnerships for Culture (AEPC) grants for creative and artistic practitioners 2026.

Through the Southern Africa project, Goethe-Institut invites creative and artistic practitioners from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe to apply for grants aimed at strengthening cultural cooperation within Southern Africa and between Southern Africa and Europe.

One of the participants, Segametsi Setshwane, appreciated the opportunity, saying creatives were sometimes unaware of opportunities available to them.

“This grant call comes at an opportune time for us as Batswana when our industry is still struggling. This will give most of us the zeal to work harder and better our products,” she said.

She said the workshop had provided relevant information that would enable practitioners to identify opportunities and use them for their development.

Another participant, Seth Sethoko, said the workshop had been well received by creatives, adding that participants were now more confident to apply for available grants. ENDS