EU Schools Festival in Eswatini

28 May 2026
Southern Africa Component

The Africa-Europe Partnerships for Culture (AEPC) activation invited learners to engage directly with art materials, giving them space to express themselves while promoting creativity, confidence and cultural exchange.

Now in its 15th edition, the EU Schools Festival in Eswatini returned under the theme Art in Action: Future in the Making, bringing together learners, teachers and cultural custodians in a space of creativity and exchange. It was more than a celebration of art, but a space where art was experienced through participation as well as interaction.

The EU Bushfire Schools Festival, a key initiative of the MTN Bushfire Festival’s Bring Your Fire call to action, brings together secondary school learners and youth art clubs across Eswatini. Participants take part in an interactive programme of creative performances, visual arts exhibitions, storytelling, and hands-on workshops designed to encourage dialogue, promote sustainable thinking and support the development of the next generation of artists.

Held on 28 May 2026, the festival brought together more than 600 high school learners from across Eswatini. It also included students with special needs and out-of-school youthclubs, creating an inclusive and educational space. Across the day, learners took to the stage to show case traditional and contemporary dance, poetry, theatre,fashion and musical performances.

First established in 2010 to support the national arts curriculum in Eswatini’s public schools, the festival has since reached more than 10,000 learners and about 700 teachers across the country. Over time, it has helped strengthen the presence of arts education in everyday school life.

At its core, the festival uses creativity as expression while also supporting skills, confidence and opportunity. From the moment learners arrived, the space filled up with energy. Colour, sound, and conversation filled the venue, transforming it into a living space of learning.
Arts education also plays a wider role in skills development. Creativity supports critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills that are increasingly important in education and the world of work.

In this way, the festival reflects broader development priorities aligned with the European Union’s focus on youth empowerment, education, cultural exchange,and inclusive growth. It also speaks to the EU’s commitment to investing in young people as drivers of social and economic development. At the same time, it contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4 on Quality Education through inclusive learning experiences and SDG 8 on Decent Work and Economic Growth through skills development and support for the creative sector.

As the day unfolded, learners moved between performances, interactive booths, and storytelling spaces, each carrying its own rhythm. One of the most engaging spaces was the Africa-Europe Partnerships for Culture (AEPC) activation, aligned with the 2026 theme, “Art in Action: Future in the Making.” This space stood out as a hands-on creative experience where learners were not only observers but active participants, shaping their own expression.

Through drawing, writing and working with fabric and ribbons, learners expressed what art means to them. Using paint, pens, pencils along side textiles, they explored ideas of creativity, identity, and imagination in a free and practical way. This activation was intentionally designed to shift learners from passive engagement to active creation, giving them ownership of their artistic voice.

For many learners, this moment became deeply personal. One learner shared, “I didn’t know I could express myself like this.” The experience reflected more than surprise; it marked a moment of discovery, where creativity became a tool for self-expression and emotional release. For some, it carried a therapeutic quality, allowing them to process feelings and experiences through art.

Through this approach, AEPC positioned itself not just as a participant in the festival but as a driver of experiential learning and creative engagement, reinforcing the idea that arts spaces can actively shape confidence, identity, and imagination among young people.

The AEPC activation therefore became one of the defining experiences, showing how interactive creative spaces can deepen the impact of arts education when learners are given freedom to explore and create without limitation.

At its heart, the festival shared a simple idea that learning happens beyond the classrooms, and art transcends observation. Not. It is something to do, feel,and share.

At the end of the day, what remained was not only the activities or displays, but the connections made between people. A reminder that learning grows through experience and exchange. Art in Action was not just the theme of the festival. It was the lived experience of every learner who stepped into space, created something new,and left seeing themselves differently.