ATCE - II | Art, Tourism, & the Creative Economy - Phase II in Northern Namibia

Phase II of the Art, Tourism and the Creative Economy project runs from October 2025 to September 2026, supported by a grant from the University of St Andrews Arts and Humanities Impact Accelerator Fund. HOTA leads the work in Namibia alongside Dr Mattia Fumanti of the University of St Andrews, with Nanyemba Katamba as local project manager.

Phase II builds on the prototypes and training manual produced in Phase I and takes the work into schools. A HOTA is partnering with the Kavango West Directorate of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture under the delegated function of the Kavango West Regional Council to bring creative product development into pre-vocational subjects such as agriculture, home economics, woodworking, and design and technology. The aim is practical: give teachers methods their learners can use, with materials a Kavango West classroom can actually get hold of.

The first residential teacher training ran in Nkurenkuru, Kavango West, in April 2026. Teachers worked in subject groups, took a real classroom topic through the full product development process, and presented on the final day. Every group built a working prototype from cheap, locally available materials. Teachers rated the training highly and asked for two things above all: more materials to build with, and more time to practise. Those requests are shaping how HOTA plans the rest of the phase.

Alongside the school work, HOTA is building the project's evidence base. The team has interviewed artists and artisans across the region about what they earn, with two further surveys underway covering tourism operators and the route from school into work or further training.