CST Awards celebrate best of the best

The Creative.Sports.Tourism (CST) Awards, held on Tuesday, 1 September at the National Theatre of Namibia in Windhoek, recognised creatives, sports personalities and tourism professionals for their work and achievements over the past year.

Emeralsand Platforms project manager Albe Botha told attendees that technology had enabled ESP to reach audiences around the world, with its platforms reaching more than one billion people annually.

He said CST is one of the platform’s “wonderful stories”, with 70 million people already agreeing that it is an amazing event. “But it doesn't help to gather these assets. We have to turn these into opportunities," he said.

Deputy Minister of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture Dino Ballotti also encouraged the nominees and recipients to aim for greatness.

"I always say that greatness is a choice," he said.

"There is a formula to success. And it's a rather simple formula. It's hard work plus discipline, which equals success. And the byproduct is a bit of luck. But my father would also tell me that the harder you work, the luckier you get," Ballotti added.

The deputy minister called on Namibians to support and promote the creative, tourism and sports sectors, starting within their own families and communities.

“We must disrupt and debunk the conventional and dated thinking that these sectors are not serious economic actors in our society, in our economy," he stressed.

The creative category recognised several industry names. DJ Vuyo won Music Entertainment Production of the Year, Patrick Sikiliza won Creative Production of the Year, Taimi Nuunyango was named Travel Vlogger of the Year, Jeremia Haihambo won Visual Arts/Exhibition of the Year, Home with Retha took Content Creation of the Year, and Karlie was named Artist of the Year.

In the sports category, Lovisa Mulunga was named Sport Personality of the Year, while Ice & Inline Hockey won Sport Code of the Year. Para Taekwondo was named Sport Team of the Year, the Brave Gladiators’ Cosafa victory was named Sport Moment of the Year, and the Interhigh 2026 match between Windhoek Gymnasium and Windhoek High School won Sport Event of the Year.

In the tourism and NTV categories, Gondwana Collection Namibia was named Tourism Service Partner of the Year, while Swakopmund won Tourism Experience Town of the Year.

Good Morning Africa won best NTV Afrika Show of the Year, while The Agenda took Best Current Affairs Show of the Year, among other awards presented during the evening.

The ceremony also featured performances by Latoya Stella, Ongoma Drum and Nasim Tekie, adding to the celebrations as the CST Awards 2026 brought together people from Namibia’s creative, sports and tourism sectors.