Dar es Salaam. When Ayeta Anne Wangusa, co-founder and Executive Director of Culture and Development East Africa (CDEA), released her novel Memoirs of a Mother in 1998, she did not imagine it would mark the beginning of a lifelong journey in women’s rights advocacy and youth empowerment.
The novel became an entry point into work that would later focus on strengthening project management and leadership skills among young women, while placing culture at the centre of development discourse in East Africa. CDEA operates as a creative think tank where science intersects with art, and where art engages other disciplines to drive innovation.
The organisation provides cultural and Pan-African thought leadership for sustainable development.
It places youth and women at the heart of sustainability conversations and livelihood creation, recognising their role in shaping inclusive and resilient futures. Its work is anchored in three pillars: the creative economy, social justice and climate action. Her leadership journey gained momentum soon after the novel’s release. In the same year, the American Centre in Uganda selected her to participate in the prestigious International Writers Programme at the University of Iowa.
Five years later, she served as a judge for the Commonwealth Writers Prize for the African Region. She worked alongside Prof Mary Kolawole of Nigeria and Prof Andries Oliphant of South Africa. “I believe my involvement with the Commonwealth Writers Prize played a significant role in my appointment as East Africa’s representative on the Commonwealth Civil Society Advisory Committee,” she said.
She was also selected to join the high-level Commonwealth Group of Culture and Development. The group advocated for governments to recognise culture as an essential dimension of development, grounded in social context rather than treated merely as a development tool.
According to Ayeta, the group recommended that Commonwealth countries integrate cultural considerations into policy areas such as social welfare, trade, health and education. It also encouraged greater investment in creative industries.
“It was during this period that the idea of establishing Culture and Development East Africa emerged,” she said. “The organisation was incorporated in 2011, and since then I have served as its Executive Director.”
Reflecting on the moment that first solidified her belief that culture and creativity could drive Africa’s development, she cited her selection in 2018 as one of the experts to review the African Union Plan of Action for the Culture and Creative Industries.
Through that process, she learned key principles for strengthening Africa’s cultural and creative industries to deliver broader social and economic impact.
These principles include stimulating economic growth, promoting social inclusion and cohesion, advancing peace building and African integration, and respecting the diversity of cultural expressions and African identities.
Other guiding principles focus on safeguarding cultural heritage, including the repatriation and restitution of cultural property of African origin. They also include protecting intellectual property rights, promoting compliance with standard-setting instruments, enhancing international cooperation, and protecting cultural rights and freedom of expression.
Asked what problem she set out to address when co-founding CDEA, Ayeta traced it back to her participation in drafting the Commonwealth Statement on Culture and Development in 2009. She said she realised there was a gap in civil society oversight. East African partner states were making commitments on culture and development at international platforms, but few organisations were holding them accountable.
“The statement urged heads of government to recognise the connections between culture and development and to implement its recommendations through stronger partnerships,” she said.
“I noticed the statement was being presented to foreign ministers, yet culture is not their primary focus. It dawned on me that since I was seeing this anomaly, action was required.” The first programme established under CDEA was the culture and governance programme. It created a platform to translate global recommendations into practical projects at national level.
As CDEA places women and young people at the centre of its work, Ayeta said working closely with young women reshaped her leadership approach.
She learned that young women value mentorship and prefer leaders who remain accessible. They do not respond well to hierarchy or distance. She also began to describe herself as young at heart. She observed that when young women are entrusted with leadership roles and supported through coaching rather than control, they perform exceptionally well. Delegation, she said, has become one of her most valued leadership tools.
Commenting on initiatives such as Structured Workplace Learning and the Creative Economy Incubator, Ayeta said she takes pride in the fact that university interns come to CDEA not only to learn but also to contribute to the organisation’s growth.
CDEA has benefited by transitioning some interns into full-time employment.
On the Binti Longa Forum, she said she is proud that the programme is designed and implemented entirely by female staff, while she plays only an advisory role. Watching the leadership growth of young women at CDEA gives her immense satisfaction. As a woman operating at the intersection of policy, research and the creative economy, Ayeta acknowledged that building partnerships with African research institutions was one of her early challenges.
She said her proposals often met silence, even when she believed her concept notes were strong. The waiting was long. The breakthrough came when she was recognised as a member of the UNESCO Expert Facility.
Through engagements with global institutions such as UNESCO, the African Union Commission and the International Labour Organization, her role has involved translating conventions, resolutions and declarations into programmes that strengthen the creative economy in East Africa. “One key flagship is the Mashariki Creative Expo, scheduled for August 18 to 21, 2026,” she said.
“At the Expo, we aim to launch East Africa’s Creative Intellectual Property Marketplace. It will connect creators, buyers, investors and institutions, turning creativity into tradable and investable intellectual property.”Balancing activism, policy influence and academic research has been demanding. Her PhD journey has focused on the relationship between practice and theory.
She said she embarked on the academic path out of concern that one day she might look back on her civil society career and find only donor reports as evidence of her work. As a researcher, she views herself as an activist participant within the ecosystem of East African creative hubs. Her activism, policy engagement, creative entrepreneurship and academic research, she said, are deeply interconnected.
Looking ahead, Ayeta hopes her work leaves a legacy in which African women in creative and cultural industries are recognised as leaders, policy shapers and owners of creative value, not merely contributors. Drawing on her journey across writing, policy advocacy, research and institution building, she seeks to demonstrate that women can successfully bridge practice, policy and scholarship.
Her goal is to translate global cultural frameworks into locally grounded and sustainable opportunities.
“Through CDEA and its women- and youth-led initiatives, I hope to have created clear pathways for young women to lead, own intellectual property and build viable careers,” she said.
“At the same time, I want to reinforce the idea that culture is central to development. Ultimately, my legacy is about leaving behind resilient systems and institutions that enable African women creatives to thrive on their own terms.”
