On 19 March 2026, WGSA Council member Zunaid Mansoor, attended KWANDE Festival, a flagship Creative Economy, Innovation and Business Week initiated by KZN Economic Development Tourism and Environmental Affairs, designed to strengthen and position the creative industries within the economic development agenda in the KZN.
Zunaid featured as a panellist on the topic, “Screenwriting – From Paper to Screen”. He was joined by industry and academic luminaries including living legend Edmund Mhlongo of K-CAP / Ekhaya Multi Arts Centre), Nomalungelo Ngcobo who is a Librarian, Outreach Coordinator and digital literacy expert with eThekwini Metro, filmmaker/writer and adaptation strategist Siyabonga Ndlozi. The panel was expertly moderated by Nisha Naidoo who is a Professor in Video Technology at DUT. Together, they discussed A.I and creative writing, authorial identity, IP and ownership, traditional cinema, content creation and verticals, playwriting, adaptation etc.
A representative from DTIC present during the Q&A, commented, that it was the first time he had heard about the importance of development in the value chain of filmmaking, that he was told it was not worth the investment, and that this panel has inspired him to revisit talks about development.
