British Council Connect ZA is a cultural programme developed between the UK and South Africa. Since 2013, the programme has supported cultural connections between young people aged 18-35 in the UK and South Africa with a range of arts projects and use of digital platforms to build creative networks through art forms including, fashion, music, film, design and more.
Between 2014 and 2015 the programme fell under the SA-UK Seasons 2014 & 2015, a project between the British Council and the South African Department of Arts and Culture. This was a multifaceted bilateral collaboration between the two nations, with a particular focus on artistic and creative capacity building and relationship development intended to raise cultural relations between the two countries.
From 2013 to 2015, British Council Connect ZA facilitated collaborations between 150 partners and contributed to the rise of approximately 100 individual projects, which engaged around 5 000 aspiring and established practitioners and drew audiences in the region of 420 000 people.
As of 2016, British Council Connect ZA continues to develop projects, reach new and diverse audiences for the arts and stimulate innovation, while inspiring connections between SA and the UK by enabling innovative creative content, collaborations and skills exchange. We do this through linking creative communities, partners and audiences both online and offline and across disciplines.