National Eisteddfod Academy

The National Eisteddfod Academy(NEA) [1] is a registered South African non-profit organisation for youth development in music, dance, drama and visual arts. Amongst all its activities it also organises the annual country-wide Young Performer Awards competition and the National Eisteddfod of South Africa.

The National Eisteddfod Academy (NEA) developed out of the Randburg Eisteddfod, a local initiative that was founded in 1994 with the purpose of addressing the increasing cost of participating in similar activities outside the region. About 2000 entries, involving 6200 participants were received during this first year. Expansion to other regions (Tembisa and Soweto) resulted in a rapid increase in numbers (4615 entries in 1995). Right from the start a very low entry fee was charged and the remains of the operating cost was covered by means of trophy sponsorships. This growth resulted in a decision to establish a national body to coordinate the expansion into other regions and subsequently the National Eisteddfod Academy (NEA) was established as a non-profit (Section 21) company in 1997 with Minister Fraser-Moleketi as National Patron.