AFN + TFA at NASFEST 2026

A narrative reflection on the African Festival Network and The Festival Academy Festival Visit to NASFEST by Thobile Maphanga.

On 26 April 2026 I set off from Cape Town, South Africa to Lilongwe, Malawi via Johannesburg. My trip to Malawi was a result of an ongoing attempt to locate and connect with festivals on the African continent through the growing African Festivals Network. The African Festivals Network, initiated in May 2023 after two African alumni of the Festival Academy (myself and Joshua Alabi) had met in Girona, Spain at the EFA Arts summit and wondered why it was that African cultural workers found each other off the continent more than on the continent. Through this conversation and with the assistance of key stakeholders associated with the Festival Academy, the Centre for Creative Arts, Wits University and Kiniso Concepts, the AFN has hosted various online engagements and a couple of in-person meetings.

This particular engagement was through the invitation of James Kitchen of LYCO (Light of Youth Creative Organisation), the host of NASFEST International Youth Cultural Festival. James, who in September 2025, had spoken about his festival at the first ever AFN Hotspot extended a generous invitation to the African Festivals Network to visit and experience the NASFEST in April 2026. His offer covered local transportation, accommodation and meals with the participants having to pay for their travel to and from Malawi. The programme for the festival promised an opportunity to see and camp at Livingstone Beach on Lake Malawi, experience performances from the international cultural groups performing and competing at the festival, conversations, workshops and networking in Lilongwe. It was an invitation rooted in hospitality and opportunity; it also exposed a reality everyone working in the cultural sector in Africa knows too well - getting to the festival can sometimes be the hardest part. Despite various people having shown interest from various parts of the continent, I was the only one who managed to travel into Malawi and the rest of the cohort were two Festival Academy alumni, namely Samantha Nampuntha and Tammy Mbendera, both from Lilongwe. We fashioned the festival visit as a collaboration between The Festival Academy and African Festival Network with a plan to host a session that would make sense with the participants of the festival.

After a few preparatory online meetings to get to know the alumni I would meet and be introduced to some of the NASFEST team, I finally arrived at a sunny Lilongwe on the afternoon of the 26th April. I was met by James and two colleagues whom I imagined were busily getting things ready for the first day of the festival - the trip to Lake Malawi. On our ride to the lodge, James mentioned that unfortunately due to the various pressures of geopolitics and the uncertainties around funding and resources in culture, multiple cultural groups that were supposed to travel to Malawi had canceled at the last minute - this included the South African group. At the time there was a flare in xenophobic violence and marches in South Africa, an embarrassing social situation to face as a South African being so kindly welcomed into a foreign country. I would be the only representative of South Africa amongst representatives from Zambia and Zimbabwe and of course Malawi when we reached Lake Malawi the following day.

The breathtaking Lake Malawi was a wonderful setting to chill and ease into the place and the festival. This, more casual part of the festival, had a soft opening with a few formal speeches, a fun ice-breaker to introduce the various international groups. A beach bar, bonfire, and cultural performances that showed off the intricacies of traditional performance techniques on the beach was not a bad way to meet Sammy and Tammy and to network with the various national organisations involved and the artists present. It was a way to settle into the no rush energy of being outside of institutional structures and on the shores of an African major lake.

Sammy, Tammy and I spent the following day preparing our session beachside. Taking into consideration what James had outlined as topics that might be relevant for the wide audience that we might have, we focused on 3 aspects for our session that we felt matched our knowledge and experience as festival makers. Tammy, who has founded the Festival Institute and GRL PWRD in Malawi, would focus on highlighting the crucial must do’s for festival (or event) producers - focusing on the 3 P’s (Purpose, Preparedness and Production). Sammy would share clear and relatable examples of how to mobilise resources by highlighting funding-in-kind instead of only focusing on money as a resource. And I would connect it all by sharing the strengths and advantages of collaboration and the wealth that networks could bring.

On the third day, after a change in venue and overcoming some delays brought on by fuel shortages, we held a beautiful 2 hour session under the trees of the Lilongwe Botanical Gardens. We had over 60 people from a minimum of 4 countries in attendance. The session was participatory and the audience engaged with sharp questions and sharing lived experiences that left us feeling motivated and invigorated. There was a sense that people wanted more hands-on pathways to festivals and festival making. The day continued with more workshops that engaged performance aspects, which felt especially beneficial to the performers of the cultural groups who were there.

Unfortunately, my trip to Malawi needed to be cut short as I needed to be back in South Africa to see a performance that was being programmed for JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience. I left on the afternoon of the fourth day of the festival. Although it felt like I had not quite fully engaged with the full scope of the NASFEST International Youth Cultural Festival, I felt grateful for the connections with the Festival Academy alumni from the continent, having met new festival makers and performers from Zimbabwe and Zambia and getting to learn about the similarities, differences and challenges experienced in a different part of Africa.

In reflection with Tammy and Sammy on the strengths and weaknesses of this festival we felt that there were some clear organisational challenges that included what looked like a very centralised decision making matrix that concentrated pressure on one person and a very small managerial team supported by a large volunteer base. There was an abundance of volunteers who were ready to work hard but often lacked the experience necessary to make decisions or execute without guidance. Timing and scheduling was inconsistent with artists and facilitators sometimes finding out minutes before they needed to perform. Shortages of fuel, vehicles, communication and drinking water at times added to a feeling of discomfort within participants who sometimes were not sure what should be happening and where and felt no agency to do for themselves in this environment. Despite the abundance of resources and goodwill of the volunteers and support from some national organisations, the system to translate those resources into dependable outcomes felt under utilised and unclear. This said, the inventive adaptations and agility of those present was something I was happy to experience, and be reminded of. The moments of real artistry and being together was wonderful to witness. The humanity and patience of those present was inspiring. The festival’s regional diversity and link with government bodies show real strength - access to markets and regional networks is a major asset.

Some of the suggestions or observations made included:

• Better sponsor negotiation could have unlocked far more consistent delivery of necessary resources (particularly around things like water, fuel, vehicles and locations)
• Empowering a small managerial team and building volunteer training could alleviate some bottlenecks and increase streamlined communication
• Reviewing the schedule and programming, considering a less intensive but achievable schedule that might stagger the circulation of the performers and guest groups might alleviate the stress of handling such big numbers of people all at the same time.

In the end, the visit for me was a wonderful insight into a different festival environment that brought attention to some great learning curves. With the multiple post mortems that we have begun engaging in with the Festival Academy and the African Festival Network we recognise an appetite among local practitioners to learn more, we have willing partners within the AFN and the Festival Academy ready to support. Our next step is seeing how we engage with practical mentorship and how this is translated into on-the-ground tools for festivals like NASFEST and beyond. To begin to fill the gap, the AFN looks forward to hosting Sammy and Tammy for an AFN hotspot and seeing what other ways we can further share and exchange knowledge and experiences.