The Arterial network to Facilitate Participation of African Journalists at the Highway Africa Conference
2009 April
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| THE ARTERIAL NETWORK |
Dear #Firstname# Welcome to the April newsletter from the ARTerial Network, an informal, dynamic network of individuals, organisations, donors, companies and institutions engaged in the African cultural sector. The Network was formed to support the effectiveness and growth of the African arts and culture civil society and to enhance the sustainability of creative industries in Africa. For further information, see www.arterialnetwork.org. ********************************** |
Table of contents |
| I.What’s new with the ARTerial Network? |
Arts Marketing Workshop at the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) The ARTerial Network, with support from the National Arts Council of South Africa, hosted an arts marketing workshop as part of the Harare International Festival of the Arts at the Book Café, a well-known cultural hub in Harare. About 35 delegates representing nine SADC countries - Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe gathered over two days to discuss the building of regional arts markets, share best practice arts marketing experience, learn from each other and work towards developing an Arts Marketing Toolkit that is rooted in and responds to the varying conditions between and within Southern African countries. Some proposals to emerge from the workshop were: a. to establish a regional circuit of venues and festivals to facilitate the distribution of the arts in the region b. to establish an annual SADC Festival that moves from country to country, with the best works from each country being celebrated at the Festival, and with the Festival leaving a legacy of infrastructure and expertise in countries that might lack these c. to develop a calendar of major cultural events and festivals that take place regularly in the region d. undertaking relevant research and lobbying for artists to travel without visa restrictions in the region e. lobbying for an SADC tourist visa – one visa for international tourists that allows them to visit a number of Southern African countries f. using the proposed Arts Marketing Toolkit to run workshops in each country, including specialised workshops such as the use of e-marketing (the session on this subject was warmly received at the workshop) g. exploring how the arts communities in SADC countries may take full advantage of the opportunities provided by the 2010 FIFA World Cup h. developing a network of private sector sponsors in the region i. developing a network of arts councils and other public sector funders in the region. An editorial team comprising Rasina Winfred Rasina from Botswana, Cathy McRoberts from Namibia, Jiggs Thorne from Swaziland, Evaristo Madime from Mozambique and Zilanie Gondwe from Malawi was elected to oversee the drafting of the Arts Marketing Toolkit that will also be funded by the National Arts Council of South Africa. The aim is to launch this Toolkit at the Second ARTerial Network Conference in September 2009. |
| Arts in Africa Website The founding conference of the ARTerial Network on Goree Island in March 2007 expressed a great need for information to be made available to empower the arts community on the continent, to facilitate networking and simply to assist international and local partners to make informed decisions and plans. To this end, the ARTerial Network has raised funds from the European Union and HIVOS to establish a website dedicated to making available relevant arts information about each African country in English and French. The website, still in development at the moment, will be launched officially on Africa Day, 25 May, at a function in Johannesburg. It may be viewed at www.artsinafrica.com . Florence Mukanga is the researcher responsible for much of the information on the website and is tasked with updating the portal. To post information on the portal (which we strongly encourage readers to do) and to provide any constructive feedback, write to florence@arterialnetwork.org . |
| First ARTerial Network Winter School for African artists’ networks 1-10 June 2009 More than 90 applications were received for 15 places at the first ARTerial Network Winter School to help build or consolidate sustainable artists’ networks on the African continent. The winter school will run from 1-10 June in Kalk Bay, Cape Town, and, with the generous support of the European Union and HIVOS, will be repeated over the next two years. The aim is that eventually there will be at least 25 national artists’ networks that would be affiliates of a Pan African Network of Artists’ Networks that would be the voice of the cultural civil society sector on the continent, and which will facilitate regional, continental and global partnerships to advance the African creative sector. |
| Second ARTerial Network conference 20-22 September, Johannesburg The second conference of the ARTerial Network will be held from 20-22 September in Johannesburg. Between 65 and 75 delegates are expected to attend representing all the regions of the continent. The theme of the conference is “Advancing the rights and status of African artists through the Nairobi Plan of Action on Cultural Industries”. The Nairobi Plan has been adopted by the African Union and African Ministers of Culture and it represents an opportunity for civil society organisations to promote their interests and better conditions for artists working and living in African countries. Art Moves Africa will assist in funding delegates’ travel to the conference. For more information send an email to margerie@arterialnetwork.org . |
| Research on the impact of the creative sector on the African economy The first phase of an ARTerial Network project i.e. to collect and synthesise all the research undertaken on the impact of the arts on the African economy in the last five years, has been completed by Avril Joffe of Agoralumiere, an agency contracted to run this project. This research is currently being evaluated and will be posted on the Arts in Africa website by the time of its launch. The project also entailed training African researchers in this field, and conducting primary research into the creative economies of Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo. |
| II.Calls for projects/Invitations |
| Last chance to enter the 2009 Commonwealth Short Story Competition - closing date 11 May 2009 The Commonwealth Short Story Competition is an annual scheme to promote new creative writing. It was established in 1996. It is funded by the Commonwealth Foundation and the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association, who work together to administer the scheme. The scheme exists to increase understanding and appreciation of Commonwealth cultures and to promote rising literary talents. Each year 26 winning and highly commended stories from the different regions of the Commonwealth are recorded on to CDs and broadcast on radio stations across the Commonwealth. The winner receives a prize of £2,000 and there are regional prizes of £500. The competition is open to all people who are citizens of a Commonwealth member country. For more information : www.commonwealthfoundation.com |
| International Children's Day of Broadcasting (ICDB) Award The deadline for application is 15 June 2009 To encourage youth participation in media throughout the year, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) will award the annual International Children's Day of Broadcasting (ICDB) Award). The competition is open to radio and television broadcasters who participated in the 2008 ICDB with programs on the theme "The World We Want." To be eligible for the ICDB Award, broadcasts must have taken place on or around March 1 2009, and should be for young people and created with some aspect of youth participation. The theme is 'Unite for Children - Tune in to Kids'. ICDB, celebrated on the 1st Sunday of every March, is a day when broadcasters around the world focus on children. They air quality programming for and about children. But most of all, they allow children to be part of the programming process, to talk about their hopes and dreams, and to share information with their peers. The day is a joint initiative of the UNICEF and the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Programs will be judged regionally. Broadcasters that have programs to enter for competition can submit them to the UNICEF Regional office that covers their country. Contact: Karen Cirillo Tel: 212 326 7506 Email: kcirillo@unicef.org |
| III.Conferences |
| Culture and creativity as Vectors of Development Conference The European Commission hosted a colloquium on Culture and Creativity as Vectors of Development in Brussels from 1-3 April. A meeting of more than 150 experts in the performing arts, music, visual arts, film and literature drawn from African, Caribbean and Pacific countries as well as from Europe gathered to exchange views on cultural policies and to identify ways for promoting development, principally through cultural industries. The colloquium also aimed to identify concrete proposals for future cooperation between European and ACP countries. The experts meeting was followed by a gathering of Ministers responsible for culture in the ACP countries and the experts’ proposals were presented to them. To make contact with the organisers and to view the inputs and outcomes of this important gathering – including the Brussels Declaration by Artists, Cultural Professionals and Entrepreneurs – see www.culture-dev.eu/website.php?lang=en |
| Euro-African Campus for Cultural Co-Operation 22-26 June 2009, Maputo, Mozambique The Euro-African Campus for Cultural Cooperation will be held from 22-26 June 2009 in Maputo, Mozambique. The main aim of the Campus is to provide a meeting, training and exchange point for cultural agents in Africa and Europe to reflect, transfer knowledge, exchange experiences and discuss possible joint initiatives in the field of cultural cooperation, in the broader context of the contribution of culture to sustainable development. The proposal has been designed by the Interarts Foundation and the Observatory of Cultural Policies in Africa (OCPA), in the framework of a cultural cooperation programme initiated in 2003 that involves research, awareness-raising, training and networking activities. Contact information: Interarts: Tel: (34) 934 877 022; fax: (34) 934 872 644; e-mail: africa@interarts.net ; www.interarts.net Observatory of Cultural Policies in Africa (OCPA): Tel: (258) 21 418 649; fax: ( 258) 21 418 650; e-mail: secretariat@ocpanet.org ; www.ocpanet.org |
| 4th World Summit on Arts and Culture 22-25 September 2009, Johannesburg, South Africa IFACCA’s World Summits are triennial events intended to provide national arts councils, ministries of culture and other agencies with an opportunity to discuss key issues affecting public support for the arts and creativity. The 4th World Summit to be hosted by the National Arts Council of South Africa. Members and affiliates are invited to participate and most sessions will also be open to the public and it will attract more than 400 delegates from around the world. Previous World Summits have been held in Ottawa, Canada (2000); Singapore (2003); and Newcastle Gateshead, UK (2006). The theme of the 4th Summit is Meeting of Cultures: Making Meaning Through the Arts. The head of ARTerial Network’s Secretariat, Mike van Graan, has been appointed as the Programme Director this World Summit. He is responsible for helping to devise the programme and speakers for the event. The context for the theme is a world which is increasingly divided by ‘cultural’ rather than political ideology, where feelings of being threatened by ‘other’ are largely based on ignorance about ‘other’. Increased globalisation, through economic integration, is often criticised for ‘homogenising’ the views and interests of economic and militarily powerful nations, at the same time that diversity and the desire to build ‘multicultural’ societies has become increasingly important. The implementation of the UNESCO Convention on the Promotion and Protection of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions is just one example of this. In this context, the Arts are seen by some as a possible bridge between cultures, to provide safe, non-threatening points of entry into understanding ‘other’. World Summit website: www.artsummit.org Contact : Rosie Katz, World Summit Co-ordinator Email: rosie@artslink.co.za Phone: +27 11 838 1383 |
| IV.Cultural events |
| UNESCO Celebrates Cultural Diversity from 11 to 22 May 2009 The numerous cultural events held on and around the World Day of Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development (21 May) at UNESCO Headquarters and elsewhere in the world are meant to underscore not only the intrinsic value of specific cultural productions, but also and above all the fertility of their diversity. Together, they remind us that humanity’s fundamental wealth lies in its diversity. By bringing out what is primordial to the human condition, art is a catalyst for the building of peace in the minds of men. 2009 World Cultural Diversity Festival: A wealth of living diversities European Night of Museums: Open doors to UNESCO’s artistic diversity Statistics: Measuring diversity |
| Afrikabok Festival, festival of animated films, 1st edition From 27 April to 20 May 2009, Senegal Bringing animated pictures to people who are mostly private. Using the tools of the mobile cinema. Information: www.festival-afrikabok.com Contact: contact@festival-afrikabok.com |
| International Festival of Animation Cinema in Meknès, 9th Edition From 7 to 15 May 2009, at the Theater of the French Institute, in Meknès, Morocco First event dedicated to film animation in Morocco and on the African continent. This edition will be marked by the first international competition of animated short film. Information: festanim.meknes@gmail.com or 212 (0) 35 51 65 00 |
| Nigeria International Book Fair 2009 May 11 at 16, 2009 Information : www.nibf.org e-mail : info@nibf.org |
| International Festival of Theater Youth Audiences (FITHEP), 4th edition From 9 to 16 May 2009 in Bangui, Central African Republic Theme "Performing arts and peace as the foundation for sustainable development" Information: fithep@yahoo.fr |
| Mawazine festival Rythms of the World 2009 From 15 to 23 May 2009 Diverse sounds and rhythms are the key word of this new edition of Mawazine Festival. The Festival, winning acclaim over the years, is coming back this year with quality music programs that will captivate the audience in one of the greatest music celebrations in the world. Information and contact : www.festivalmawazine.ma |
| Badilisha Poetry X-Change 22, 23&25 May 2009, Cape Town, South Africa. The Badilisha! Poetry X-change is a project that celebrates the word through the concept of ‘badilisha’, a Kiswahili expression denoting change, exchange and transformation. More information, Africa Centre : www.africacentre.net E-mail : info@africacentre.net |
| The Bayimba International Festival of Music and Arts 12th-14th June 2009, Kampala, Uganda The Bayimba International Festival of Music and Arts – of which the first edition was organised in June 2008 – is the most visible activity of the Foundation. It is organised by the Cultural Foundation which firmly believes that the planned activities offer an attractive and irresistible programme of music and arts to a wide and diverse audience. The Festival and the other activities of Bayimba Cultural Foundation are set to add value and to expose the music and arts of Uganda locally, regionally and internationally. The Festival will also build public awareness for domestic tourism, social responsibility and understanding the role of creativity within society. Phone: +256 414 591 670, or +256 713 548 784 Email: bayimba@gmail.com Link: http://bayimba.org/ |
| V.Others |
| AfricAura, The African Way This project of the Cameroonian Joseph Danjie who aims to produce a pan-African television series that will explore the depths of African culture as a basis for deep rooted development. It will be a contribution to the reflection on poverty reduction in Africa in the face of the challenges of on-going globalization and a reconstruction of permanent values of the African memory that could serve as a base for the elaboration of an ideal progress in harmony with rooted African aspirations. To illustrate the concept of the AfricAura television series, the project officer has already created, with the help of ten artists, a collection of fifty-two original paintings based on the episode titles. These paintings have been exhibited in Cameroon and the United States. For More information contact : Joseph Danjie Email: africaura@yahoo.fr Website: www.africaura.homestead.com |
| Contact us If you wish to make contact with the ARTerial Network or if you received this newsletter second hand and would like to be on our database : info@arterialnetwork.org and for further information, see www.arterialnetwork.org . |
