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Cultural and Creative Economy

African Union Member State representatives validate joint programme to boost decent work in Africa's creative economy

The African Union, ILO, and UNESCO have launched the CREATE Programme, validated by 29 AU Member States, to promote decent work in Africa’s cultural and creative economy by improving working conditions, expanding social protection, and fostering sustainable opportunities for artists and creative professionals across the continent.

7 April 2025

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA (ILO News) – The African Union (AU), International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNESCO, are proud to announce the validation of the Joint Programme CREATE, aimed at promoting decent work in Africa's cultural and creative economy. This initiative seeks to harness the potential of the cultural and creative sectors to drive inclusive, resilient, and sustainable development across the continent. The programme was validated by 29 Member States who joined online and in-person in Johannesburg.

Angela Martins, Acting AU Director for Social Development Culture and Sport, shared with delegates that “the AU Commission, along with ILO and UNESCO, has been working hard to develop the CREATE Programme, which aims to strengthen Africa's cultural and creative industries by ensuring fair working conditions, stronger protections and better opportunities for artists and creative professionals. While Africa's creative sector is full of talent and innovation many artists still struggle with job insecurity, low wages and limited social protections.”

She emphasized that the Revised AU Plan of Action on Cultural and Creative Industries encourages more investment in cultural spaces and resources, supports trade within Africa and beyond, and calls for better laws and systems to protect artists and creative workers. It also highlights the need to protect intellectual property, ensure fair pay for artists, and embrace digital technology so that African creatives can fully benefit from their talents in today’s fast changing world.

Angela Martins and Khumbula Ndaba, sit behind a podium at a joi ILO-UNESCO-African Union CREATE Programme Validation Workshop. — Angela Martins, Acting AU Director for Social Development Culture and Sport, and Khumbula Ndaba, Director of the ILO Country office in Addis-Abeba, announce the validation of the Joint Programme CREATE.

Khumbula Ndaba, Director of the ILO Country office in Addis-Abeba, shared in his opening remarks that “the CREATE programme came to being as part of the African Union (AU) Year of the Arts, Culture, and Heritage in 2021, under the theme “Arts, Culture and Heritage: Levers for Building the Africa We Want.” The ILO, AU and UNESCO collaborated on a study on Promoting decent work in the African cultural and creative economy, which highlighted several decent work deficits, to state a few; dominance of informality, lack of contracts, inadequate social protection and low, unregulated wages.”

The programme will be implemented at three levels:

Continental: Coordinated by the AU, focusing on policy harmonization and advocacy.
Regional: Involving regional economic communities for cross-border collaboration.
National: Collaborating with national governments to tailor interventions to local needs.

The desired outcomes expected from the programme include the legal recognition and protection of cultural professionals, ensuring access to comprehensive social protection for all workers in the sector; effective social dialogue mechanisms to enhance working conditions, create a supportive institutional and legal environment for formal employment; and enhanced policies and programmes that foster sustainable enterprise creation and skill development.

The Joint Programme CREATE represents a significant step towards realizing the potential of Africa's cultural and creative economy. By promoting decent work and leveraging the strengths of the AU, ILO, and UNESCO, this initiative will contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the AU's Agenda 2063.

The programme will be submitted to the AU Specialized Technical Committee (STC) on Youth, Culture and Sports, in June 2025 for endorsement.