No Development Without Culture! Artists And Activists Promote Cultural And Artistic Rights - Arterial Network

Artists and Activists promote Cultural and Artistic Rights at Arterial Network's African Creative Economy Conference.

RABAT, MOROCCO: Thursday 13th of November was the official opening of the African Creative Economy Conference 2014, which is taking place at the National Library in Rabat, the Kingdom of Morocco until November 15th.

The African Creative Economies Conference is an annual project of the Arterial Network, a civil society network of artists, cultural activists, enterprises, NGOs and others active in the African creative sector.

Co-hosted by Arterial Network and the Associations Racines/ Arterial Network Morocco, the ACEC kicked off with an exclusive presentation and Q&A session with the Moroccan Minister of Culture, Amine Sbihi, one of the official partners of the conference.

The Minister reminded the audience of the crucial contribution culture plays in human development, in creating jobs and sustaining wealth. “Africa, in spite of its cultural richness and diversity, has failed in integrating culture in its overall political programmes. An event like the ACEC sets a dynamic and unprecedented example for the entire sector of Africa.”

Arterial Network Chairperson Aadel Essaadaani has explained the goals of this year’s ACEC in this way, “Africa has to generate its own images and ensure its intrinsic development by professionalizing its cultural actors and by preserving its heritage. This will be achieved by the logic and strategy of the ‘network’ and through a constructive cooperation with Africa’s cultural and economic partners.”

To that end, the first day of the ACEC was dedicated to an analysis of the state of the creative industries in Africa, looking at the Millenium Development Goals and how cultural operators can join forces with various stakeholders to ensure culture’s recognition in the post-2015 global agenda.

Danielle Cliche of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005) Charles Vallerand Secretary General International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity (IFCCD) both underlined a critical need for an integrated approach to sustainable development in cultural advocacy for the post-2015 agenda, echoing Aadel Essaadani’s emphasis on the necessity of the “network” approach in lobbying strategies.

Arterial Network was also proud to introduce some it’s key projects and initiatives such as Artwatch Africa and the organization’s brand new website.

Arterial Network Secretary General Peter Rorvik presented Artwatch Africa with a thrilling essay project on Artistic Freedom. Novelists and participating artists include Albie Sachs, Chenjerai Hove, Lauren Beukes and Yewande Omotoso.

Artwatch Africa celebrates the role of artists as agents of change and their ability to engage with the general public on the value of freedom of expression for society. These essays can be found on Arterial Network’s new website at www.arterialnetwork.org. The website, launched this week, also hosts a range of valuable resources for artists and arts practitioners, and will greatly contribute to the networking of arts organizations across the continent.

In parallel to the ACEC, the 1st edition of Visa For Music, a professional market of Africa and Middle East Music is taking place daily at the National Theatres from 12 to 15 November. More information herehttps://visaformusic.com/

Friday the 14th of November will be dedicated to success stories from African trendsetters representing various arts disciplines who will share their experiences for a “Snapshot into a Creative Africa”. Speakers will include world-famous fashion designer Alphadi, Touria al-Glaoui of the 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, flourishing Photographer Aida Muluneh and Allayne Reesberg, CEO of World Design Capital.


For Updates from Rabat

For those unable to attend the ACEC, the conference is being streamed live from the conference website at africacreativeconference.com

For up-to-the-minute updates from the conference, please follow the African Creative Economies Conference on twitter: @ACEC_2014, on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AfricanCreativeEconomyConference or athttp://africacreativeconference.com

This 4th edition of the ACEC is hosting practitioners, academics, policymakers and stakeholders from more than 30 African countries and the five continents, having become the annual landmark event to debate and formulate the strategies that help sustain and grow the creative sector in Africa.

Arterial Network 4th African Creative Economy conference is supported by the Moroccan Minister of Culture, the National Library of the Kingdom of Morocco, the Doen Foundation and other valued partners.


ABOUT ARTERIAL NETWORK

Arterial Network is a dynamic network of artists, cultural activists, creative enterprises, cultural NGOs and institutions engaged in the creative sector in more than 40 countries across the African continent.

The vision of Arterial Network is of a vibrant, dynamic and sustainable African creative civil society sector engaged in qualitative practice in the arts in their own right, as well as in a manner that contributes to development, to human rights and democracy, and to the eradication of poverty on the African continent.


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