Fak’ugesi 2025 #PowerSurge is set to ignite the heart of Joburg with a defiant call to Africa’s digital creators to take control of the grid, spark new systems, and route power on your own terms. From 7 to 12 October 2025, dive into a vibrant digital renaissance featuring forward-thinking showcases and exhibitions, panels and masterclasses, family-friendly fun, and more. Here’s what you need to know.
What’s in store for the 2025 Fak’ugesi Festival
Now hosting its twelfth edition, Fak’ugesi has become a catalyst for Africa’s digital renaissance, creating a meeting ground where a new wave of African innovators, artists, and technologists can gather to experiment, collaborate, and challenge digital possibilities.
With this year’s #PowerSurge theme, the festival will convert Braamfontein into a living power circuit of ideas and action, where ancestral intelligence fuses with artificial intelligence, climate justice drives sustainable futures, and immersive tech lights the way for bold new creative economies.
Highlights to look forward to
Fak’ugesi promises a week of creative activities including roundtable talks, pitches, networking opportunities, panels, cutting edge showcases and masterclasses, immersive experiences, groundbreaking exhibitions, and a day dedicated to families. Here are some of the top highlights to look forward to:
The Surge Experience
The Surge Experience is a three-stop immersive tour with the signature fulldome programme at the Wits Anglo American Digital Dome, ancestral intelligence and the Original Creative Explosion at the Origins Centre, and Future Forward XR and VR immersions at Tshimologong Precinct.
Afrique Creative 3
An Agence Française de Developpement (AFD) funded acceleration program supporting 15 creative entrepreneurs from 10 countries, culminating in a bootcamp and showcase at Fak’ugesiPRO 2025.
Immersive Africa – Bridging Continents Through Digital Creativity
Powered by EUNIC’s Spaces of Culture programme, Immersive Africa lights up the dome with boundary-breaking fulldome works from visionary African, European, and South American creators. The journey ignites with the AfriVerse: Step Inside Our Stories experience, offering three electrifying immersive worlds to explore:
- Art Edition – Where colour, sound, and movement collide in a sensory explosion
- Environmental Edition – A visceral plunge into Earth’s urgent rhythms and wild beauty
- Cosmosceno Edition – A cosmic odyssey across galaxies of imagination
Afropean Intelligence Challenge
A five-day AI bootcamp exploring Afrocentric approaches to AI, ending with the Entropy symposium.
Three Fields
A South Africa, India and UK XR collaboration on food sustainability and indigenous practices.
Fak’ugesi Awards
These awards can only be attended by invite and are dedicated to celebrating Africa’s digital rebels, disruptors and dreamers in animation, gaming, XR, and design.
Showcases and Conference
Explore world-class exhibitions, witness cutting-edge gaming and XR showcases, and stop by a conference featuring leading African and international speakers.
Fun for the family
On Sunday, 12 October, the festival hosts their family day, offering a variety of activities that include workshops, showcases, and karaoke for the whole family!
Need to know before you go
The festival’s public programme opens on Thursday, 9 October. There are various ticket options to help you create your festival experience:
- Three-day festival pass from 9 to 11 October 2025 offering full access to the heart of Fak’ugesi Festival: R300pp
- Single-day pass: R160pp; R50pp for students
- The Surge Experience: R240pp for adults; R200pp u/18 (10 and 11 October). R180pp for adults; R140pp u/18; R495 for the family day experience, covering 2 adults and 2 u/18s (12 October)
- Afriverse: R70pp for adults; R40pp u/18
- Family day pass: R300 covers 2 adults and 2 u/18s; R495 (includes entry and Surge experience)
Book all Festival tickets via Quicket
When: Tuesday to Sunday, 7 to 12 October 2025 | Public programme: Thursday, 9 October from 8.30am to 4.30pm. Friday and Saturday from 8am to 5pm. Sunday from 8am to 2pm
Where: Braamfontein, Johannesburg (Origins Centre, Wits Anglo American Digital Dome | Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct, 41 Juta St, Braamfontein, Johannesburg
Get in touch
Website: fakugesi.co.za
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: @Fakugesi
Instagram: @fakugesi
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