When we started the process of working on this year’s SoCreative Hubs Summit, we were excited and energised by the prospect of working with Southern Africa’s brightest spirits and compelling voices. 

I say this because, the social, creative and cultural economies and the hubs which serve them are the fore runners of transformation in Africa’s human and economic development. 

These sectors engender a new set of values around responsibility, balance, resilience and sustainability that seek to solve deep seated problems at their roots. 

They also contend for the principle that valuing people more than profit is 

This week we will embark on a journey together as we have a conversation around defining ecosystem culture. Our main pillars that will frame this discussion are shared values, community connectedness and resilience. 

The speakers who have come from all over Africa and the world are people whose stories have captured the essence of these pillars. They are dedicated and hardworking individuals with inquisitive minds who do not take the pursuit of knowledge lightly or for granted. 

Over and above this, as we have worked together with our partners and sponsors, British Council Southern Africa Arts, DICE in South Africa, Zimbabwe German Society and Liquid we have also had the unique opportunity to reflect on what these pillars mean for how we as the SoCreative Team do business. 

It is important to share values within an ecosystem, especially those that you partner with to do business. 

Yet at the same time these must also be balanced with some values that are so important it doesn’t matter whether others share them or not, things like integrity and transparency. 

And then we must also appreciate that none of us can accomplish anything truly meaningful without each other. But at the same time our connections can also hinder and hold us back. 

Finally, at the end of it all, what do we want to come out of our efforts? An outcome that can be inherited or something that will honour the truth of this present moment. Both are necessary and many of us will have different ways of achieving this and this looks different to us all. 

Through many months of planning, late nights of working and many moments of rejigging and redrawing our concept to capture what we have also learned and discovered we have lived the journey of also creating a culture for the space we now call SoCreative. 

Thankfully the light that we have chased as we have followed this path  is all of you. 

You inspire us with your light so much we felt that there was no better way to start our conversation this week than to theme this opening night as African Glamour. 

Our modus operandi this next few days will be listen, share, learn and network. 

Our desire is that you would liberate your creativity and re-energise your cause. 

Our intent is that all of you and even us would have a moment and exchange of truth.  

Most of all, have fun getting to know each other and being a part of a conversation that can help us reshape the narrative of our ecosystem. 

Thank you.

Rudo Nyangulu-Mungofa | Summit Director | SOCreative Hubs Summit 2020