​Backstage Academy hosted a VIP delegation of South African dignitaries from the Department of Culture and Arts to its UK campus in March 2019, securing an agreement with the South African government to create a Memorandum of Understanding to drive the creation of a live event training initiative in South Africa.
Backstage Academy has worked with the South African Roadies Associate (SARA) for over a decade, exploring the creation of a training initiative, called the public private partnership, for the live events industry in South Africa.
The initiative aims to establish a training institution based on the Backstage Academy model to provide skills and opportunities for young South Africans in the live event sector in Africa.
Vusumuzi Mkhize, director general of the South African Department of Arts and Culture said “This project to drive live events training is of enormous importance to our country to bridge the skills gap in the sector. The public private partnership will help the south African Government to achieve this objective and create job opportunities for the youth.”