A Movement Born from Words
Rooted in the Okavango. Open to every creative voice. Poetavango is a non-profit arts organisation based in Maun, Botswana, dedicated to developing, promoting and elevating performance, literary and visual arts.
Poets + Okavango = Poetavango
The name Poetavango brings together two worlds: poets and the Okavango. When the organisation was founded, its heart was spoken word and performance poetry created by artists living in the Okavango region of Botswana. As the years passed, the movement grew beyond poetry into music, visual arts, comedy, theatre, storytelling and other creative expressions. The name still honours the poets and writers who planted the seed.
The power of the word, carried in a symbol
The Poetavango logo carries the power of the word. The microphone represents voice, sound, music and the creative power carried by performance. The human shapes inside the logo speak of unity, warmth and openness, welcoming people across race, colour, creed and gender. It can also be read as a sun, a flower and a sign of growth, light and creative belonging.
What guides the movement
Mission
To develop, promote and elevate performance, literary and visual arts.
Vision
To become a well-organised, resourceful, educating and entertaining body of disciplined and dedicated artists of international standards.
Values
Professionalism, oneness, teamwork, global competitiveness and integrity.
What Poetavango Works Toward
- To promote performance, literary and visual arts in Botswana.
- To inform, educate and entertain through the arts in their entirety.
- To enhance and promote cultural tourism in Botswana.
- To promote Botswana as a tourism destination.
- To create platforms which allow cultural exchange between local and international participants.
- To create vibrant, highly engaging platforms where tourists, visitors and the local populace can intermingle.
- To create platforms that promote respect for cultural diversity and human creativity.
- To encourage a culture of reading and writing.
- To showcase local cultures to international audiences.
- To encourage and motivate the younger generation, particularly school learners, through literary, visual and performance arts.
- To create decent recreational spaces that keep members of the community positively engaged.
April 2008, Red Cross Hall
Poetavango has been in existence since April 2008. It was founded after a simple but important realisation: Maun needed inspiring, informative and entertaining spaces where the community could meet, perform and positively spend time. The first poetry session took place at the Red Cross Hall with only three performers and twenty-three audience members. The response was strong, and by the next month the hall was filled to capacity, proving that Maun was ready for a creative movement of its own. The Poetavango Collective is fully registered with the Registrar of Societies in Botswana (registration number CR8882).
An all-inclusive creative collective
Today Poetavango is an all-inclusive arts organisation with poets, writers, musicians, administrators and creative collaborators. It runs activities throughout the year, including outreach projects, performances, workshops, awareness campaigns, youth programmes, cultural activities and art tourism initiatives. The organisation continues to use creativity as a way to build skills, strengthen community and open Maun to cultural exchange.
Office bearers
Legodile Seganabeng
Anthony Molosi
Thuso Mafoko
Goodwill Tlokwe
Ponatshegelo Katlholo
Letang Selepe
Thato Molosi
From principles to practice
Culture-led
Poetavango turns its mission into year-round platforms for performance, literature, visual arts, cultural tourism and creative exchange.
Community-rooted
Programmes are shaped around artists, young people, visitors and communities, with Maun and the Okavango region at the centre of the work.
Working principles
Professionalism · Oneness · Teamwork · Global Competitiveness · Integrity
Governance and organisational capacity
Poetavango operates as a registered non-profit organisation under a constitution and policy framework. From three founding members, the collective has grown to more than twenty active members, with membership renewed biennially following Annual General Meetings.
UNESCO accreditation
Accredited as NGO 90646 under the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
International learning
Participation in the SMART Erasmus+ programme strengthened international exchange, collaboration and youth-focused learning.
Management development
NGO management and arts leadership workshops strengthened strategic planning, fundraising, programme evaluation and sustainability.
One Word. One Aim. One Destiny.
One Word honours the creative voice. One Aim reflects a shared commitment to developing the arts. One Destiny expresses the belief that artists and communities grow further when they move together.
Join The Movement