City libraries book it with four wins at Western Cape Cultural Affairs Awards

City libraries book it with four wins at Western Cape Cultural Affairs Awards

10 September 2026

The awards, hosted annually by the Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS), recognise and celebrate the cultural, linguistic and heritage excellence in the province.

The Western Cape Cultural Affairs Awards is a vital opportunity to proudly showcase the diversity of the province’s cultural landscape, particularly in respect of cultural and linguistic heritage.

This year, the awards drew nominations from 375 public libraries.

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‘Well done to all the winners! I am incredibly proud of our libraries and librarians who consistently go the extra mile for their communities. They are all worthy contenders, but a special congratulations to those facilities that won awards. Our libraries continue to be safe places of innovation, learning and growth. I encourage our residents to visit their nearest libraries to experience the award-winning programmes for themselves,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Councillor Francine Higham. 

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City libraries won in the following categories:

  • Reading and Literacy Champion Award: City of Cape Town Library and Information Services for their 1 000 Stories before School programme. In a country where literacy challenges continue to impact children's educational outcomes, the programme has become a powerful, city-wide response to one of society's most pressing challenges: ensuring that every child enters school with a love of stories, language and learning. Since its launch in 2022 as the first implementation project of the City of Cape Town Reading Strategy, the programme has united libraries, families, educators, healthcare workers, NGOs and community stakeholders around a shared vision: to plant the seed of a love for stories before children enter formal schooling. Since its inception, membership has grown from 2,464 registered participants in 2023 to more than 20,571 registered children by June 2026.

  • Digital Literacy Champion Award: Brackenfell Public Library, champion Lonwabo Mabele - consistently serves as a dynamic and welcoming hub for its community, going above and beyond to provide accessible resources, embrace modern technologies, and foster a lifelong love of reading. The library has implemented highly successful initiatives to nurture early literacy and a passion for storytelling. The library hosted a digital literacy programme resulting in the creation of Ubuntu Bytes, a project where youth blended practical life skills with technology by engineering recipe prompts using AI.

  • Neville Alexander Award for an Outstanding Contribution towards the Promotion of Multilingualism: Athlone Library for their Digital Reading Den is a pioneering, multilingual digital platform that has made a significant and lasting contribution to improving communication and access between the official language communities of the Western Cape — Afrikaans, English, and isiXhosa — while extending inclusivity even further.

  • Climate Culture in Action: Sir Lowry’s Pass Library – the library was recognised for its Cool Space Pilot project, which reflects the innovative role libraries can play in responding to the environment and the needs of their communities.

 To find your nearest library, visit: https://www.capetown.gov.za/Departments/Library%20and%20Information%20Services%20Department

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