Patience Makwele
Khomas governor Sam Shafishuna Nujoma has called for Windhoek to stop being a transit point for tourists and position itself as a cultural destination capable of keeping visitors in the city longer and spread tourism income to creatives, hospitality businesses and residents.
Nujoma made the call on Wednesday during the official opening of the “Namibia – A Photographic View” exhibition at the City of Windhoek, which forms part of the cultural cooperation between Windhoek and its sister city Mannheim, Germany.
He said Windhoek was uniquely positioned to benefit from the country’s tourism flows, noting that nearly every visitor to Namibia arrives through Hosea Kutako International Airport and passes through the capital before travelling to destinations such as Sossusvlei, Swakopmund or Etosha.
“Our task is to ensure that Windhoek is not merely a point of transit, but a cultural destination in its own right, where every additional night spent translates into income for our creatives, our hospitality sector and our residents,” Nujoma said.
He said culture should be treated not only as a means of preserving heritage, but also as an economic opportunity.
“Our responsibility as leaders is not only to preserve culture, but to create an environment in which it can be practised, developed and transformed into opportunities for social and economic advancement,” he said.
Nujoma said the Sixth National Development Plan (NDP6) places the cultural and creative industries under its Human Development and Community Resilience pillar, with targets to increase their contribution to gross domestic product and employment by 2030.
He said the eighth administration, under President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, had also identified the creative economy among its national development priorities, alongside youth empowerment, education and skills training.
“We must therefore begin recognising artists as entrepreneurs, employers, innovators and contributors to national economic growth,” Nujoma said.
He urged Windhoek and Mannheim to deepen their cultural cooperation through joint exhibitions, artist residencies, curatorial exchanges and skills-transfer programmes for young photographers and filmmakers.
Nujoma said such co-productions could place Namibian creative work before European audiences while bringing international expertise, investment and visibility into the local creative sector.
The exhibition is a joint initiative of the City of Windhoek and City of Mannheim, in collaboration with the Reiss-Engelhorn Museums and the National Art Gallery of Namibia.
It focuses on drought, climate change and the lived experiences of Namibian communities, while highlighting resilience, adaptation and hope.
Nujoma said photography had the power to turn abstract global challenges into human experiences and encourage greater public engagement with issues such as climate change.
Windhoek mayor Sakarias Uunona said the exhibition demonstrated how international partnerships could create opportunities for Namibian artists and cultural practitioners to gain exposure beyond the country’s borders.
He highlighted young Namibian photographer Rachel Ngeitokondjo Sakeus, whose documentary “Tura Story” received an honourable mention, saying her work demonstrated the talent emerging from Namibia’s younger generation.
Uunona also cited musician Ou Slow, who won first place in the College of the Arts Talent Competition in Windhoek and secured an opportunity to study at the Popakademie in Mannheim.
He said the opportunity demonstrated that the Windhoek-Mannheim partnership could move beyond ceremonial engagements and translate cultural exchange into tangible educational and professional opportunities for young Namibians.
Uunona said the city must continue creating an enabling environment where creative practitioners can develop their skills, protect their intellectual property, access markets, collaborate internationally and earn sustainable incomes from their talents.
The exhibition was previously launched in Mannheim on 15 November 2025 and has now returned to Windhoek, bringing the works back to Namibia after their international exposure in Germany.
