tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26469621921506449912024-03-12T15:53:59.709-07:00arterialnetworkarterialnetworkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374657044164144330noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646962192150644991.post-35303863832718267462013-02-21T02:36:00.001-08:002013-02-21T02:36:13.127-08:00Africa is not a country<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Africa is not a country</span></u></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 1.0cm; margin-right: 33.95pt; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">An Open Letter to the Federal Republic of Germany</span></u></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 1.0cm; margin-right: 33.95pt; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">by Safia Dickersbach</span></u></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The cultural
foundation of the Federal Republic of Germany, the “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kulturstiftung des Bundes” </i>decided to initiate a new thematic focus
in its sponsorship work. The programme is called “TURN” and – as explained in
the introductory statement – it is supposed to deal with “Africa”. Although
there are certainly good intentions behind this new initiative, the information
published about this programme on the website of the “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kulturstiftung</i>” and the funding guidelines which were recently
released raise more questions than answers. I want to share some of my anger
and disappointment with you as follows:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">1. “TURN” is supposedly
dedicated to foster “German-African cultural relations”. Without a doubt a
cultural exchange is necessary to develop mutual understanding and
communication. As opposed to Germany, Africa is not one country, but rather a whole
continent consisting of more than 50 individual countries. The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kulturstiftung</i> apparently considers all those
countries to be culturally homogenous enough to be able to entertain coherent
“cultural relations” with Germany. Could it be that the people at the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kulturstiftung</i> are talking about 50
different relationships between Germany and the individual African countries?
But then wouldn’t it seem a bit ambitious to have a jury of three people make
decisions involving an entire continent, 50 countries and more than 2000
languages together with the cultures and customs connected to them? Are the
three jury members familiar enough with all these countries to fully comprehend
their different cultures and languages? And what do these three jury members
know about the currently developing new arts and culture scenes on the huge
African continent?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">2. The budget the
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kulturstiftung</i> considers to be
sufficient enough to achieve all those goals (see No. 1 above) is a modest 2
million EUR. This is not a joke. The exhibition “Who knows tomorrow” alone
which took place in Berlin and showed the works of solely five (!) African
artists had a budget of 900,000 EUR. It is ironic to call the provision of 2
million EUR for projects that are supposed to last until 2015 and cover a whole
continent a “thematic focus”. Especially so if it is a focus of a foundation of
the German federal government. Compared with the overall budget of the Federal
Republic's state secretary for culture of over 1 billion EUR per year which
includes the budget of the German Federal Cultural Foundation, the money which
is designated for the TURN – Africa project is nothing more than small change
money. With such a tiny budget would it then not be more honest and realistic to
focus the activities on a few African countries or a specific region of the continent?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">3. The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kulturstiftung</i> claims to support the new
African initiatives in the area of contemporary and innovative art. But on the
other hand:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">a. Africans are
not allowed to apply for the funds directly.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">b. The African
partners are only allowed to apply together with an institutional partner in Germany.
The funding guidelines reveal the reason to this: “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The German partner, as the project coordinator, has to assume
responsibility for ensuring that all funds are expended as contractually agreed
upon with the Federal Cultural Foundation.</i>” In other, simpler, words: The
Africans are not trustworthy. Basically the funding guidelines tell the other
side of a prospective cultural exchange in a roundabout way what in blunt words
would be: Sorry, but we cannot trust you, the German art and culture institutions
have to first discover you, choose you and then they have to be the lead
partner in the exchange, because with bookkeeping we have to rely on the German
side.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">c. There is no
mechanism that guarantees an adequate representation of the different African points
of view.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">d. No information
about the sponsorship scheme has been published in African countries. At least
the funding guidelines have been recently made available in English. But French,
Portuguese and Arabic translations have yet to appear and it is not that we are
asking for Kiswahili, Yoruba, Chichewa, Ovambo, Hausa, Kinyarwanda and Shona,
just to mention a few.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">e. How exactly does
the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kulturstiftung</i> want to prevent the
fact that essentially it yet again reflects the German point of view of what is
artistically relevant in Africa? Because this is what happens when only German
institutions are allowed to apply for funding and no African artist or art
collective nor any creative community from Africa has been informed and enabled
to apply for funds themselves? If only the German viewpoint counts, why does <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kulturstiftung</i> even mention the
so-called “cultural exchange”? This approach reminds me very much of the
paternalistic attitude which characterized the way Europeans dealt with
Africans in former centuries. Do the African countries still want to be treated
like this? The attitude transmitted by the funding guidelines and the structure
of the TURN programme seems to be the consequence of profound prejudices and
can only be considered by the African side as completely disrespectful.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">f. What is the
role and position of the “new developments and initiatives” in Africa which <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kulturstiftung</i> emphasizes, if solely the
German institutions are allowed to decide whom they choose as their African
cooperation partner? Basically, with this strategy <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kulturstiftung</i> cements the current dominance of Western/European art
professionals being the decision-makers in regards to what is accepted as significant
or important African art. If this is not an expression of a hegemonial approach
in cultural affairs than what is?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">g. When <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kulturstiftung</i> writes on its website
that “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the programme will primarily
provide German institutions and artists incentives to enhance their profiles
with new themes, working methods and perspectives</i>”, it sounds as if fresh
African ideas and innovations are exploited as new inspirations to rejuvenate
the cultural scene in Germany instead of promoting equitable cultural cooperation
between Germany and the different African countries. Why do those German
institutions not just exhibit or present the best of what Africa has to offer
in the same way as they would do it in their regular programmes in case of an
artist from France or the U.S. without talking about profile-enhancement with
new working methods?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">h. It seems that the
theme "Africa" has been misused to cast a favourable light on the
work of the German Federal Cultural Foundation in its 10th anniversary year
2012 which was celebrated in June 2012 with Chancellor Angela Merkel joining
the festivities. The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kulturstiftung’s</i>
TURN project – different from what they made it sound in their initial press
and media campaign – is not so much about strengthening the institutions for
artistic and cultural projects in African countries, but it is rather about
fostering the German art and culture scene. This truth has been revealed when a
TURN jury member conceded in a comment on Facebook: “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">They’ve also said that the fund is about the ‘German institutional
art-and-culture-scene’ and not about ‘supporting African contemporary art
institutions’, but I’ll leave them to clarify that.</i>” What does this
statement mean in the end? It proves that the marketing campaign which was centred
upon a “new focus on Africa” was actually misleading to the German public, the
taxpayers whose money the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kulturstiftung</i>
is using and the political decision-makers who decide about the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kulturstiftung's</i> budget.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">What is exactly
the misleading element? As a headline to the presentation the German Kulturstiftung
states that their goal is to promote German-African relations in arts and
culture. But from comments like the one above we now know that the intention of
the program is rather to invigorate and vitalize the German institutional
art-and-culture scene and less to strengthen African contemporary art
institutions. But then the program should have been better called something
like “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Advancement of the
internationalization of the German art and culture scene through cooperation
with artists from African countries</i>” instead of creating the impression of
a big new policy focus of "German-African cooperation" in cultural
affairs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">i. Out of the five
institutions which <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kulturstiftung</i> mentions
in its TURN concept as an example of new artistic developments in African
countries two are managed, founded or directed by curators who indeed have an
African origin, but were raised and/or professionally assimilated in the West. Of
course, there is nothing bad about being educated abroad and obtaining a
broader professional horizon. On the other hand, one has to be aware that these
so-called diaspora curators are often criticized by artists who are still based
and working on the African continent for exerting an undue influence on
defining what is internationally accepted as relevant contemporary African art
to the detriment of local art scenes and communities in Africa. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Local artists
complain that those art spaces are usually not exhibiting art which is accepted
and appreciated in their home countries and in the communities in the vicinity
of these institutions. Instead they select artists whom they consider to be in
line with the international trend in order to satisfy the expectations or requirements
of their Western backers and sponsors or to become critically acclaimed in the
West. Some artists claim that the activities of those art spaces and their
exhibitions often demonstrate experimental and almost compulsively pretentious
art which is not enrooted in the countries where those institutions are located.
While there might be some envy and competitive resentment in such remarks and
an objective judgment on the quality of art is an oxymoron, it is at least
questionable to present experimental art like installations and video art as
important African art in a cultural setting in which visually strong and historically
acknowledged art forms like painting and sculpturing still have to overcome
significant obstacles in order to be viable as a part of the cultural life. The
problem is not whether contemporary art forms like video art and installations
should or should not be part of an artistic programme, rather whether such art
should be presented as the currently (only) representative and significant kind
of contemporary African art in spite of the fact that in most of the African
countries there are sophisticated art works of the last 10 to 20 years which
are simply ignored by the international art establishment until now. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">j. Whether the
“new African institutions” actually work “outside the public funding system” as
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kulturstiftung</i> claims on its website
seems dubious. Those institutions will hardly get funding from their home
countries, but rather from Western and European sources, be it state-sponsored
development aid or money from private foundations. Does this statement yet again
highlight deficits in information about the state of art life and institutions in
Africa?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">k. Another aspect
of this doubtful approach is the selection of the jury which seems to be
totally miscast. The only African on the jury, Nana Oforiatta Ayim, according
to information given by her, was born in Germany to Ghanaian parents, studied
in England and Russia and is currently based and works in Germany, the United
Kingdom and Ghana. Besides the fact that the internet reveals an awkward
variety of birth dates and places for her, jumping between Africa and Europe
back and forth according to project-related suitability (born in 1976 according
to information of the African Film Festival of Milan, born in 1977 according to
information of the Nigerian Invisible Borders Trans-African Photographic Initiative
and born in 1980 in Accra according to information of OCA / The Office for
Contemporary Art Norway, all in all a rather confusing and embarrassing biographical
hotchpotch which puts her credibility as the “African representative” into
question), she is at least due to her upbringing and education subconsciously
as “Western” in her attitudes and points of views as the theatre-director
Sandro Lunin from Switzerland and the Bavarian-based journalist and deejay Jay
Rutledge. Why didn’t the German Federal Cultural Foundation choose at least one
if not a handful of additional art and culture professionals who have spent
most of their life living and working in Africa as jury members? Somebody who
is not in one way or the other connected to the Western or (Eurocentric)
“international” art scene and its somewhat specific understanding and
particular taste of contemporary art? Why is there not at least one genuinely
African artist or art professional to complement the jury who makes sure that
the African perspective on art is taken into account and Africa’s artistic
vision is positioned well?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">4. The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kulturstiftung</i> also sponsors research
projects. In the presentation of TURN there is so much talk about cooperation
and exchange between German art institutions and their counterparts from Africa
that it was somewhat surprising to see that an additional programme is needed within
the TURN fund to promote research projects. If this is a concession of the lack
of knowledge about the African art scene and of cultural misunderstandings,
then wouldn’t it be better to support more than 10 research projects with 9,000
EUR each? Actually, a much bigger share of the budget should have been made available
for such fact-finding missions. The harsh reality that essentially more research
is needed to enable a successful cultural exchange appears almost like a
Freudian slip in the rhetoric about promoting German-African cultural
relations. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In any case, these
research missions actually might enable German institutions to thoroughly explore
contemporary and emerging art and culture in African countries, as opposed to
the blind following of the conventional wisdom of the established circle of
Western-educated art professionals and curators.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This would be an opportunity to critically reflect
on the dominance of the Western-influenced art scene and its particular agenda
in the perception and global acceptance of African art. Curiously enough <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kulturstiftung</i> mentions the “cultural
exchange” between the five African art institutions which it considers to be progressive
and the “Afro-diaspora communities” worldwide. Mentioning this kind of an
“exchange” might be a euphemism for a connection which – as mentioned above –
is sometimes criticized for solidifying the influence of Western diaspora communities
and artists on the international discourse in regards to what kind of art should
be considered worthwhile and exhibited as relevant contemporary African art. An
exchange which too often silences and drowns out the voices of the local
artists and creative communities based in Africa. Why do we not let the African
art communities decide for themselves which kind of art should be considered as
the benchmark of contemporary art from Africa today? Would it not be a sign of mutual
respect and intercultural understanding?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">5. The final
remark in the funding guidelines speaks for itself: The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kulturstiftung</i> recommends to its applicants to regularly follow up
on the travel warnings of the Auswärtiges Amt (Foreign Office) relating to
African countries. Maybe it would have been wiser (and not only more appropriate
with regard to the available funds) to focus the whole effort on a limited
number of countries which would not actually be on the Auswärtiges Amt travellers’
“black list”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">All this leads to
a question: Does “TURN” really “revolutionize” the hegemonial treatment of the
value and quality of African traditions and idiosyncrasies by the European art
establishment which we have observed for too long? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will the time come when numerous diverse art
scenes, creative communities and cultural circles on the African continent
finally be taken seriously and treated as an equal, a partner that has an
opinion – a voice that must be heard?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">6. What does the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kulturstiftung</i>, the German Federal
Cultural Foundation, say about all this: Dr. Uta Schnell who runs the TURN programme
claimed in a statement which she emailed to me that the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kulturstiftung</i> “unfortunately is limited by statutory and
administrative possibilities”, so that it could not “take into account all
suggestions it might have desired”. I am wondering whether those statutory and
administrative restrictions are a consequence of the same subtle prejudices and
patronizing attitudes which characterize the whole structure of TURN and its
funding requirements and which we believed to have been buried for long in the
past of European-African interconnections. Maybe not without reason Uta Schnell
did not answer me any more when I asked her what exactly those “statutory and
administrative” obstacles were and what changes they prevented which the German
Federal Cultural Foundation would have desired to make. It is a sad experience
that a serious Western institution recognizes severe deficits in its programme,
but then gives in to unclear administrative regulations instead of fighting for
an immediate modification of the programme and a removal of its problematic
parts.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">A cultural
exchange requires respect for your cooperation partners and dealing with them
at eye level; these basic principles seem to be completely ignored by the
structure and funding requirements of TURN although you would expect them to be
observed first and foremost in an arts and culture related programme. If
already the elite circles of the art world in Europe deal with an easy element
of arts and culture policy like that, what does this reveal about the way the
political decision-makers will act when it comes to shaping the really relevant
policy actions for dealing with Africa in foreign policy, development aid and
other questions of human survival?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">This text was
first published on October 1<sup>st</sup>, 2012, and was last updated on
February 5<sup>th</sup>, 2013.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Safia Dickersbach
is an art market practitioner, born in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, currently based
in Berlin, Germany, and is the Public Relations Director of Artfacts.Net, a
British company which is the leading online database for modern and
contemporary art.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Africa Is Not A
Country - Facebook page:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>http://on.fb.me/RPgfMt</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
arterialnetworkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374657044164144330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646962192150644991.post-26347718066009803692013-02-21T00:09:00.003-08:002013-02-21T02:33:59.488-08:00Africa: A continent or a country<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The noun "Africa" has always been
misused, misconstrued or used to serve convenient purposes.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> In this
triumvirate of sharp-witted essays, Wainaina dissects the cliché of Africa and
the preconceptions dear to western writers and readers with ruthless precision.
In the same fashion, ‘My Clan KC’ undresses the layers of meaning shrouding the
identity of the infamous Kenya Cowboy, while ‘Power of Love’ bemusedly
recollects the advent of the celebrities-for-Africa phenomenon, heralded by the
mid-eighties hit song ‘We Are The World’. It also scrutinizes the international
NGO circuit and the transactions between ‘dollar-a-day people’ and
$5000-a-month United Nations consultants whose started off as
‘$5-dollar-a-day’, 25-year-old backpackers full of ‘love and compassion’ for
the continent.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Always use the word ‘Africa’ or
‘Darkness’ or ‘Safari’ in your title. Subtitles may include the words
‘Zanzibar’, ‘Masai’, ‘Zulu’, ‘Zambezi’, ‘Congo’, ‘Nile’, ‘Big’, ‘Sky’,
‘Shadow’, ‘Drum’, ‘Sun’ or ‘Bygone’. Also useful are words such as ‘Guerillas’,
‘Timeless’,‘Primordial’ and ‘Tribal’." </span></i><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Excerpts from <b>How to Write About Africa</b> by Binyavanga Wainaina. <a href="http://www.kwani.org/publication/kwanini-series/4/how_to_write_about_africa.htm" target="_blank">Read More>></a></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The cultural foundation of the Federal
Republic of Germany, "Kulturstiftung des Bundes", decided to initiate
a new thematic focus in its sponsorship work. The programme is called ‘TURN‘
and – as explained in the introductory statement – it is supposed to deal with
''Africa". Although there are certainly good intentions behind this new
initiative, the information published about this programme on the website of
the "Kulturstiftung" and the funding guidelines which were
recently released raise more questions than answers.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">It seems that the theme "Africa"
has been misused to cast a favourable light on the work of the German Federal
Cultural Foundation in its 10th anniversary year 2012 which was celebrated in
June 2012 with Chancellor Angela Merkel joining the festivities. The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kulturstiftung’s</i>
TURN project – different from what they made it sound in their initial press
and media campaign – is not so much about strengthening the institutions for
artistic and cultural projects in African countries, but it is rather about
fostering the German art and culture scene. This truth has been revealed when a
TURN jury member conceded in a comment on Facebook: “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">They’ve also said
that the fund is about the ‘German institutional art-and-culture-scene’ and not
about ‘supporting African contemporary art institutions’, but I’ll leave them
to clarify that.</i>” What does this statement mean in the end? It proves that
the marketing campaign which was centred upon a “new focus on Africa” was
actually misleading to the German public, the taxpayers whose money the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kulturstiftung</i> is
using and the political decision-makers who decide about the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kulturstiftung's</i>
budget. In an open letter addressed to the Federal Republic of Germany, Safia
Dickersbasch shares her disappointment. </span><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><a href="http://arterialnetwork2011.blogspot.com/2013/02/africa-is-not-country_21.html" target="_blank">Read More>></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">What are your views? Is Africa a country or a
continent? </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"></span></div>
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arterialnetworkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374657044164144330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646962192150644991.post-36110019075946955622012-11-06T00:13:00.001-08:002012-11-06T00:14:42.511-08:00Freedom of Creative Expression in Africa<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The article was written for www.artsfreedom.org<br />
<br />
In recent years, there has been much excitement in the West – and in African<br />
political circles - about the rise of the African continent, pointing particularly to the<br />
sustained economic growth in some countries over an extended period of time.<br />
During the first ten years of this millennium, six of the fastest-growing economies<br />
were African: Angola, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Chad and Mozambique.<br />
Expectations are that Ghana, Zambia, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic<br />
of Congo (DRC) will join this club by 2015, the deadline for the realization of the<br />
Millennium Development Goals.<br />
<br />
There is hope – in some quarters – that economic growth will help to lift millions of<br />
Africans out of poverty, improve their quality of life and empower them to demand<br />
and experience greater human rights and freedoms than has been the case till now.<br />
<br />
But, does economic growth necessarily lead to greater freedom? Is market<br />
liberalization always accompanied by political liberalization? Does greater wealth<br />
translate into a better quality of life for the majority of a society’s inhabitants?<br />
<br />
The so-called Arab Spring that started in North Africa has inspired many - both in<br />
the Arab world and elsewhere – to believe that it is possible for ordinary people to<br />
throw off the shackles of repression and to claim the rights and freedoms outlined<br />
in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights including the rights to freedom of<br />
assembly, freedom of expression, freedom to hold views contrary to those in power<br />
and the freedom to participate in the structures that govern their lives And yet, while<br />
there have been various attempts at replicating the citizens’ movements of North<br />
Africa south of the Saharan desert, there have been no changes in authoritarian<br />
governments through citizen power in the last two years, except that Mali, till recently<br />
considered one of the more democratic countries on the continent, and Equatorial-<br />
Guinea both experienced military-led coups in this year.<br />
<br />
If anything, there has been a tightening of the grip of those in political authority and<br />
by those who occupy positions of power in religious, social and other institutions, and<br />
whose collective hegemony suppress dissent and opposition in a variety of ways.<br />
Those who present alternative ideas, who challenge dominant positions are at risk,<br />
and these include creative practitioners: musicians, filmmakers, visual artists, theatre<br />
makers, writers and cartoonists.<br />
<br />
Against this background, Arterial Network – a civil society network of artists, cultural<br />
activists, creative enterprises and others engaged in the African creative sector<br />
and its contribution to human rights, democracy and the eradication of poverty –<br />
embarked on a project, Artwatch Africa, to research, monitor and expose in particular<br />
the suppression of the right to freedom of creative expression in all African countries<br />
and territories.<br />
<br />
<b>The right to freedom of expression and African policies</b><br />
<br />
Many African countries expressly assert – or support - the right to freedom of<br />
expression in their constitutions, in some laws or in regional and international<br />
conventions to which they are signatories.<br />
<br />
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which many African states<br />
support declares “everyone has the right to freedom of expression; this right includes<br />
freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart<br />
information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”.<br />
<br />
UNESCO’s Recommendation concerning the Status of the Artist calls on member<br />
states to “protect, defend and assist artists and their freedom of expression”.<br />
The UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of<br />
Cultural Expressions – which 36 African countries have adopted to date - affirms<br />
that “freedom of thought, expression and information, as well as diversity of the<br />
media, enable cultural expressions to flourish within societies”<br />
<br />
The African Union’s own Plan of Action on the Cultural and Creative Industries in<br />
Africa adopted by culture ministers in Algiers in October 2008 expressly proposes<br />
to “guarantee freedom of expression for creative and performing artists”.<br />
<br />
The predecessor the African Union – the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) –<br />
adopted the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights in 1981 (it entered into<br />
force five years later when the required number of countries ratified it).<br />
<br />
<i>Article 8 of the African Charter states</i>:<br />
Freedom of conscience, the profession and free practice of religion shall be<br />
guaranteed. No-one may, subject to law and order, be submitted to measures<br />
restricting the exercise of these freedoms.<br />
<br />
<i>Article 9 states:</i><br />
Every individual shall have the right to express and disseminate his opinions<br />
within the law.<br />
<br />
<i>Article 10 states:</i><br />
Every individual shall have the right to free association provided that he<br />
abides by the law.<br />
<br />
While the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights appears to promote and<br />
support fundamental human rights, the emphasis on “the law” and subjugating these<br />
fundamental rights and freedoms to “the law” allows governments to pass laws<br />
that may severely restrict and undermine such human and people’s rights. So, for<br />
example, Zimbabwe uses the Public Order and Security Act to prevent criticism<br />
or insults of the President, while the former President of Malawi similarly used a<br />
colonial-era “insult law” to threaten those who undermined him, with imprisonment of<br />
up to two years.<br />
<br />
Article 17 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights is similarly<br />
ambiguous when it states that “Every individual may freely take part in the cultural<br />
life of his community” but goes on to declare that “The promotion and protection of<br />
the morals and traditional values recognised by the community shall be the duty<br />
of the State”, thereby granting the state the right to determine what is morally and<br />
culturally acceptable when individuals do “freely take part in the cultural life of his<br />
community”.<br />
<br />
This contrasts sharply with Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights<br />
which states “everyone shall have the right freely to participate in the cultural life of<br />
the community and to enjoy the arts….” without any qualification.<br />
<br />
The struggles of artists and creative people in Africa are reflected in the Kampala<br />
Declaration on Intellectual Freedom and Social Responsibility adopted by<br />
intellectuals who met in 1990 to reflect on the increasing repression faced by African<br />
intellectuals and academics. In the preamble to the Kampala Declaration, they<br />
state “The struggle for intellectual freedom is an integral struggle of our people for<br />
human rights” and the Declaration later states “No African intellectual shall in any<br />
way be persecuted, harassed or intimidated for reasons only of his or her intellectual<br />
work, opinions, gender, nationality or ethnicity”.<br />
<br />
Notwithstanding the rights apparently afforded to African people through various<br />
official African and international conventions and the claims to intellectual and<br />
other freedoms by African people, the default impulse of African regimes appears<br />
to be that they are able to restrict these freedoms where they consider – or defend<br />
such restrictions – in terms of law, order or national security, as determined by the<br />
regimes themselves. There appears to be little appetite for affording African people<br />
their fundamental rights and freedoms as suggested by the Protocol to establish<br />
an African Court for Human and People’s Rights which was adopted in 1998 and<br />
came into force in 2004 when the minimum number of 15 African countries ratified<br />
the Protocol. To date, only 26 countries – fewer than half the number of African<br />
countries – have ratified this Protocol aimed at defending the rights of Africans.<br />
<br />
There appears then, to be a real ambivalence on the part of the political leadership<br />
of African countries fully to embrace real and fundamental human rights and<br />
freedoms, without giving themselves an escape clause, where they may use “the<br />
law” and “order” as legitimate means to deny people these rights and freedoms.<br />
<br />
<b>Democracy in Africa</b><br />
<br />
The so-called Arab Spring served to place democracy in the Arab world under the<br />
spotlight, but it also brought into focus the state of democracy in Africa that, after a<br />
rapid period of democratisation in the last decade of the previous century, appears to<br />
be reflecting a retreat from democratic practices.<br />
<br />
Freedom House is an America-based NGO that monitors democracy globally using<br />
criteria such as political rights expressed in electoral processes, political pluralism<br />
and the functioning of government, and key civil liberties like freedom of expression<br />
and belief, personal autonomy and individual rights to determine whether countries<br />
are “free”, “partly free” or “not free”.<br />
<br />
In terms of these descriptions, a “free” country is one where there is open political<br />
competition, respect for civil liberties and highly independent media and civil society<br />
organisations. “Partly free” countries are characterised by limited respect for political<br />
and civil liberties, where a single party enjoys significant dominance and where<br />
corruption, weak rule of law and ethnic and/or religious strife prevail. Countries<br />
where civil and political liberties are absent and basic civil liberties are systematically<br />
denied are classified as “Not free”.<br />
<br />
Using these criteria, Freedom House’s 2011 global survey lists 9 African countries<br />
as “free” (16%), 23 as “partly free” (42%) and 23 as “not free” (42%), implying that<br />
the overwhelming majority of Africans live in conditions where political pluralism, free<br />
and fair elections, political and civil liberties, including freedom of expression and<br />
association, are severely restricted.<br />
<br />
Using the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index of 2011, the African<br />
Institute based in Pretoria, South Africa, identifies four types of African governments:<br />
full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes and authoritarian<br />
regimes. Of the 50 rated African countries, only Mauritius is considered a “Full<br />
Democracy” while 9 countries constitute the “Flawed Democracy” category, 11<br />
are considered “Hybrid Regimes” (in the state of transition) and more than half are<br />
deemed to be “Authoritarian Regimes”.<br />
<br />
Of the six African countries with the fastest growing economies, four are listed<br />
as “Not free” in the Freedom House survey – Angola, Chad, Democratic Republic<br />
of Congo and Rwanda while Mozambique and Nigeria fall into the “Partly free”<br />
category. None of the fastest growing economies appears in the “Free” category.<br />
<br />
On the Democracy Index 2011 it is even worse with only Mozambique having<br />
a “Hybrid Regime” while the other five fast growing African economies are all<br />
in “Authoritarian” countries. There does not appear then to be a link between<br />
economic growth and political freedom, not surprising when China has also reflected<br />
significant economic growth and the lifting of hundreds of millions of people out of<br />
poverty while not embracing significant civil and political liberties. Interestingly,<br />
the four non-African countries with the fastest growing economies in the first ten<br />
years of this millennium are China, Cambodia, Myanmar and Khazakstan, all of<br />
which feature in Freedom House’s “not free” category. The temptation for many<br />
would be to deduce that democracy is an impediment to economic growth, and,<br />
with China as Africa’s key trade partner, there may be the increasing justification to<br />
follow the Chinese centralised model of growth and political control to meet Africa’s<br />
developmental challenges.<br />
<br />
Against the background of the global economic recession and the global perception<br />
of Africa as an increasingly attractive investment and market destination, both west<br />
and east might sacrifice democracy in favour of political stability to secure their<br />
respective economic interests in the region in the same way that the democratic<br />
west turned a blind eye to the dictatorships of Tunisia and Egypt as these served the<br />
west’s geo-political and economic interests.<br />
<br />
<b>Development and human rights in Africa</b><br />
<br />
Democracy and economic growth are not ends in themselves. Economic growth is<br />
necessary to generate the resources that states can use to fulfil the aspirations of<br />
their people in accordance with the human rights and freedoms articulated in the<br />
Universal Declaration of Human Rights while democracy represents the best political<br />
means for citizens to lay claim to, monitor and agitate for their interests.<br />
<br />
In 2000, world leaders met at the United Nations in New York and agreed on a set<br />
of Millennium Development Goals to be achieved by 2015. While these goals were<br />
articulated in terms of “development”, they are fundamentally, about human rights.<br />
<br />
Millennium Development Goal 1 is to “eradicate extreme poverty and hunger”; this<br />
resonates with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ Article 25 (1): “Everyone<br />
has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself<br />
and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary<br />
social services and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness,<br />
disability, widowhood, old age or lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his<br />
control.”<br />
<br />
Millennium Development Goal 2 to “achieve universal primary education” is similar to<br />
Article 26 (1) of the UDHR: “everyone has the right to education. Education shall be<br />
free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall<br />
be compulsory….”<br />
<br />
MDG 3 to “promote gender equality and empower women” expresses the desire to<br />
implement Article 2 of the UDHR: “everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms<br />
set forth in this Declaration without distinction of any kind such as race, colour, sex,<br />
language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth<br />
or other status.”<br />
<br />
Goals 4 “reduce child mortality”, 5 “improve maternal health” and 6 “combat HIV/<br />
AIDS, malaria and other diseases” are inherent in Article 25 Article 25 (1) already<br />
articulated above and in Article 25 (2) “motherhood and childhood are entitled to<br />
special care and assistance”.<br />
<br />
Goal 7 “ensure environmental sustainability” and Goal 8 “develop a global<br />
partnership for development” express the vision contained in Article 28 of the<br />
UDHR “everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and<br />
freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realised”.<br />
<br />
The Human Development Index of the UN’s Development Programme rates<br />
countries in terms of criteria such as life expectancy, income, literacy levels, etc with<br />
countries divided into four categories: Very High Human Development, High Human<br />
Development, Medium Human Development and Low Human Development. Thirty-<br />
three African countries – more than 60% of the total number of African countries -<br />
are listed in the Low Human Development category, emphasising the relevance of<br />
the Millennium Development Goals and of the human rights principles to African<br />
countries. Interestingly, notwithstanding their “fastest growing” economies, Chad,<br />
Nigeria, Rwanda, Angola, Mozambique and Ethiopia all feature in the “Low Human<br />
Development” category, showing that there is no link necessarily between high<br />
economic growth and development that benefits the majority of a country’s citizens.<br />
It is for this reason that citizens should be able to enjoy political rights and civil<br />
liberties to agitate in their interests, to ensure that national wealth is not vested in an<br />
elite and that the MDGs and UDHR are realised in the lives of citizens.<br />
<br />
These rights include:<br />
<br />
Article 1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are<br />
endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit<br />
of brotherhood.<br />
Article 3: Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.<br />
Article 7: All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination<br />
to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any<br />
discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such<br />
discrimination.<br />
Article 9: No-one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.<br />
Article 13: Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the<br />
Article 18: Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion;<br />
this right includes the freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom, either<br />
alone or in community with others and in public or private, and to manifest his<br />
religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.<br />
Article 19: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right<br />
includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and<br />
impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.<br />
Article 20: Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.<br />
Article 21 (1): Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country,<br />
directly or through freely chosen representatives<br />
Article 21 (3): The will of the people shall be the basis of authority of government;<br />
this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be<br />
universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent voting<br />
procedures.<br />
Article 23 (1): Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just<br />
and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.<br />
Article 23 (2): Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration<br />
ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and<br />
supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection<br />
Article 27 (1): Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the<br />
community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.<br />
Article 27 (2): Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material<br />
interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the<br />
author<br />
<br />
Rather than separate silos, development, human rights, democracy and economic<br />
growth are all integral to each other. It is this belief that has led to Arterial Network’s<br />
definition of development as ‘the ongoing generation and application of resources to<br />
create and sustain the optimal conditions in which human beings may enjoy all the<br />
rights and freedoms enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights’.<br />
<br />
It is also the recognition of key challenges on the continent and the integration<br />
of development with democracy and human rights that have informed Arterial<br />
Network’s vision “to develop the creative sector in its own right and as means to<br />
contribute to human rights, democracy and the eradication of poverty in Africa”.<br />
<br />
<b>Monitoring and exposing the contravention of freedom of creative expression</b><br />
<br />
Contemporary emphasis on the “cultural dimension of development” stresses<br />
the importance of the creative industries as economic drivers that would promote<br />
development. However, as pointed out earlier, economic growth – certainly in<br />
Africa – does not necessarily mean “development”; economic growth needs to be<br />
complemented by the pursuit of civil and political liberties in order to ensure that<br />
societies are developed in which the full human potential, and their full human rights<br />
and freedoms of all, are realised.<br />
<br />
Against this background, Arterial Network is establishing a project to monitor the<br />
practice and constraints on freedom of creative expression in all African countries,<br />
including the various forms of censorship that prevail in each country. While other<br />
barometers exist to measure freedom of the media, there is no measure of freedom<br />
of creative expression.<br />
<br />
Freedom of creative expression is linked to a number of other factors such as access<br />
to education and training, safety of artists, ICT penetration, freedom of assembly<br />
and association, access to resources to facilitate creation, access to infrastructure<br />
and opportunities to distribute work, so that while freedom of creative expression<br />
has value in its own right, it would be useful also to measure the extent to which<br />
countries in Africa create and support the conditions in which this right may be<br />
realised to its fullest potential.<br />
<br />
The aims of Artwatch Africa are<br />
1. to research Freedom of Creative Expression across the continent (the laws<br />
governing freedom of expression in each country, the methods used to limit,<br />
curtail – or promote – freedom of creative expression, the levels of formal,<br />
informal and self-censorship, the kinds of censorship – political/religious/<br />
social - the numbers of artists arrested, detained, jailed and the art works<br />
banned or censored), to provide a benchmark for Freedom of Creative<br />
Expression in Africa, and as a starting point to monitor such freedom<br />
2. to produce and regularly update a website on a daily/weekly basis that is<br />
dedicated to the monitoring of freedom of creative expression<br />
3. to produce a barometer that measures and evaluates African countries and<br />
their support for or curtailment of freedom of creative expression<br />
4. to produce an initial publication on the state of Freedom of Creative<br />
Expression in Africa<br />
5. to host seminars, workshops and conferences and to produce information<br />
tools on the subject in order to assess the state of freedom of creative<br />
expression and as a basis for taking action to advance freedom of expression<br />
6. to encourage weekly blogs and articles on the freedom of expression from<br />
around the continent and as expressions of such freedom<br />
7. to liaise with other organisations monitoring freedom of expression (Amnesty<br />
International, Freemuse, Reporters Without Borders etc) and to share<br />
resources, information and strategies to advance freedom of creative<br />
expression in Africa<br />
8. to alert the African and international communities to any assault on freedom of<br />
creative expression in Africa and to provide regular updates<br />
9. to initiate and/or co-ordinate campaigns to advance freedom of expression<br />
in support of particular artists, countries, organisations, causes as deemed<br />
necessary from time to time<br />
10. to research, monitor and regularly update the conditions in each African<br />
country (policy, funding, education, distribution mechanisms, etc) that impact<br />
on the exercise of freedom of creative expression.<br />
11. to develop a database of organizations providing direct support such as<br />
psychological, legal, medical and financial help/assistance to the artists in<br />
distress and their families<br />
<br />
Artwatch Africa is essentially to keep accountable African governments who have<br />
committed themselves to upholding freedom of expression and to place pressure on<br />
others that pay little respect to civil and political liberties, and to fundamental human<br />
rights and freedoms.<br />
<br />
<b>Mapping of freedom of creative expression in Africa</b><br />
<br />
Research undertaken by Arterial Network as well as other experience reveals that<br />
there are varying ways in which artistic expression is suppressed or compromised<br />
depending on the context.<br />
<br />
The following table provides an indication – by no means exhaustive – of the kinds of<br />
strategies adopted in order to suppress freedom of artistic expression.<br />
<br />
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<tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Strategies</span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Free</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">countries</span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Partly free</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">countries</span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Not free</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Countries</span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"> 1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Coercive
strategies</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 38.25pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -20.25pt;">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.1<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Arrests</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 38.25pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -20.25pt;">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.2<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Detention without trial</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 38.25pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -20.25pt;">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.3<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Use of insult/defamation
laws</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 38.25pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -20.25pt;">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.4<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Imprisonment</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 38.25pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -20.25pt;">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.5<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Kidnappings</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 7;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 38.25pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -20.25pt;">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.6<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Murder/Extra-judicial execution</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 8;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 38.25pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -20.25pt;">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.7<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Exile</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 9;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 38.25pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -20.25pt;">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.8<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Violence (assaults,
disruption)</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 10;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 38.25pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -20.25pt;">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.9<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Banning (of art works)</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 11;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 38.25pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -20.25pt;">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.10<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Banning
(of persons)</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 12;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 38.25pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -20.25pt;">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.11<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Restrictive
age limits</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 13;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 14;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"> 2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Intimidation
(generally resulting in self-censorship)</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 15;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 38.25pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -20.25pt;">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.1<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Verbal abuse</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 16;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 38.25pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -20.25pt;">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.2<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Threats of violence</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 17;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 38.25pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -20.25pt;">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.3<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Lawsuits/civil claims</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 18;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 38.25pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -20.25pt;">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.4<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Protests</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 19;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 20;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"> 3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Marginalisation</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 21;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 38.25pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -20.25pt;">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.1<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Denied access to public
funding</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 22;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 38.25pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -20.25pt;">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.2<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Exclusion from official
functions</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 23;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 38.25pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -20.25pt;">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.3<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Blacklisting</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 24;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Entities
responsible for suppression</span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Free</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">countries</span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Partly free</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">countries</span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Not free</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">countries</span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 25;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Government</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 26;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Political
parties</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 27;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Army</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 28;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Security
police</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 29;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Police</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 30;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Religious
groups</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 31; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 232.2pt;" valign="top" width="310"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Traditional
leaders</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.9pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.05pt;" valign="top" width="108"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">X</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<b>Miscellaneous examples of the suppression of freedom of expression</b><br />
<br />
1. Bertrand Treyou, a Cameroonian writer, was imprisoned from 2010-2011<br />
for writing a book – The Belle of the Banana Republic: Chantal Biya, from<br />
the streets to the Palace - in which he allegedly insults the wife of Paul Biya,<br />
President of Cameroon – a “not free” country - since 1982<br />
2. Jonathan Shapiro, aka Zapiro, a cartoonist in South Africa – a “free” country<br />
– regularly encounters a range of forms of intimidation from lawsuits from the<br />
country’s President Zuma for his cartoon depicting Zuma as a rapist of Lady<br />
Justice, to death threats from Muslim groups for his depiction of Mohamed, to<br />
sharp criticism from Jewish groups for his cartoons that critique Israel<br />
3. In May 2012, a group of intellectuals and artists in Algeria – a “not free”<br />
country – issued a statement decrying the intimidation levelled at the<br />
organisers of an independent conference on cultural policy, and for its general<br />
control of the Algerian cultural space in which it seeks to sanction “official<br />
culture”. Ironically, the AU’s Plan of Action on Cultural Industries that<br />
promotes freedom of expression and civil society participation in cultural<br />
policy formulation and implementation, was adopted in Algiers in 2008.<br />
4. The Censorship Board in Zimbabwe – a “not free” country - banned the play,<br />
No Voice, No Choice by Tafadzwa Muzondo earlier in 2012, notwithstanding<br />
the aim of the play to “spread a message of peace”. Cultural activists in<br />
Zimbabwe are also concerned about proposals to regulate festivals made by<br />
the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe, and which are seen as an attempt to<br />
control the largest independent festival in the country, the Harare International<br />
Festival of the Arts (HIFA).<br />
5. World Theatre Day, due to be celebrated by theatre professionals, students<br />
and amateurs in Tunisia on 27 March 2012, and with full authorisation<br />
from the Ministry of Interior, was violently disrupted by a group of religious<br />
fundamentalists.<br />
6. A South African artist – Brett Murray – encountered heavy intimidation in<br />
the form of protest marches led by the ruling party, calls for his work to be<br />
banned, accusations of racism and even a suggestion by a church leader<br />
that he should be stoned for his exhibition, Hail to the Thief 2, which heavily<br />
critiqued the ruling party’s betrayal of its liberation ideals, and particularly for a<br />
painting, The Spear, that depicted President Zuma with his genitals exposed.<br />
<br />
<b>Conclusion</b><br />
<br />
As the above examples show, intimidation and suppression of freedom of creative<br />
expression are not confined to authoritarian African countries, but are evident in “not<br />
free” countries, in societies that are in transition after having deposed autocratic<br />
dictators and even in countries where constitutional democracy – at least in the form<br />
of relatively free and regular elections – is embedded.<br />
<br />
While the forms of suppression of dissent and the entities exercising such repression<br />
may vary from country to country, invariably it is those who occupy positions<br />
of political and/or religious power who are most responsible for denying the<br />
fundamental right to freedom of creative expression, with through the use of the<br />
coercive machinery of the state, or by mobilising religious, political or ethnic groups<br />
to exert pressure (often violent) on those who exercise their right to freedom of<br />
creative expression.<br />
<br />
Notwithstanding this, there are many brave people – artists and other creative<br />
practitioners among them – who recognise that the only way to advance, defend and<br />
embed freedom of expression, is to practice it.<br />
<br />
It is in support of such individuals and organisations that Artwatch Africa finds its<br />
raison d’etre to provide moral, financial and publicity support to help to protect and<br />
defend those who are on the frontline of freedom of expression in Africa. Given<br />
the precarious state of democracy and the lack of respect for human rights on the<br />
continent as well as the constant reversals of democratic gains, Arterial Network<br />
chapters and links between Arterial Network and similar organisations across the<br />
globe are imperative to advance the creative sector in its own right, and in so doing,<br />
to defend and promote democracy and human rights, and to empower citizens in<br />
their collective fight to eradicate poverty, and create sustainable conditions in which<br />
human beings enjoy and realise their full potential.<br />
<br />
Mike van Graan<br />
Executive Director: African Arts Institute<br />
<br />
Acknowledgement: This article is based on research undertaken as an initial<br />
mapping of the state of freedom of expression in Africa by Arterial Network with<br />
Dounia Benslimane (Morocco), Telesphore Mba Bizo (Cameroon) and Josh<br />
Nyapimbi (Zimbabwe) coordinating a number of researchers to do this.</div>
arterialnetworkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374657044164144330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646962192150644991.post-3757565855783460752012-04-20T03:26:00.000-07:002012-04-20T03:26:00.086-07:00HAS ART BECOME A VICTIM OF SHRINKING DEMOCRATIC SPACES IN ZIMBABWE?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">By Raisedon Baya</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In March 2010 Bulawayo visual artist Owen Maseko put up a solo exhibition at the National Art Gallery in Bulawayo and called it Sibathontisele. This means let’s drip on them in IsiNdebele. The title of the exhibition is an allusion to blood and the form of torture using burning plastic that was experienced by many Ndebele people during the Gukuhundi atrocities of the 80s. Although Sibathontisele was not Owen Maseko’s first solo exhibition it is the one that the artist is now well known for. </span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The exhibition started as a noble idea to push the agenda of national healing, reconciliation and integration into public spaces. However, it was misinterpreted by authorities as an arts project intent on undermining peace and state security by sowing seeds of division. It was immediately banned and the artist detained for several days in a police cell. And since March 2010 the artist has been waiting trial after challenging his arrest at the highest court of law, the Supreme Court. Strangely, Owen Maseko is not on trial for contravening the censorship act but a higher crime of undermining the President’s authority under the Public Order and Security Act. </span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Another interesting dimension is that soon after the banning of the exhibition and the arrest of Owen Maseko there was a media frenzy that ended up re-christening the exhibition from Sibathothisele to Gukurahundi Exhibition and consequently Owen Maseko became known as the Gukuragundi artist, whatever that is. This re-Christening of the exhibition made it more a political statement or event rather than a work of art. In simple terms the exhibition became political and thus the artist now stands on trial rather for his assumed political thoughts and not for his artistic work. It is sad that Owen Makeso is now being defined by one painting or a single exhibition wherever he goes? But an artist cannot be defined by a single work. That would be unjust.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Owen Maseko’s exhibition has been accused of lacking subtleness. “It was too direct,” many have said. But Zenzele Ndebele, a producer of the documentary Gukurahundi and one artist who stood by Owen Maseko through thin and thick disagrees.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">“It’s not fair to say Owen’s work was too direct. There should be no taboo subjects for artists. Artists must be free to tackle any subject of their choice and, in any case, healing starts with telling the truth. All Owen did with his exhibition was to tell the truth. Gukurahundi happened. That’s a truth. An undeniable fact.”</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Although Zenzele himself was not arrested for his documentary that touched on the same subject as Owen’s exhibition he claims to have been harassed and intimidated several times. “I got phone calls in the middle of the night. I was threatened. But what was worse for me was ordinary people and fellow artists accusing me of seeking attention, inviting controversy so as to get asylum abroad or attract western donors.” The same accusation has been thrown at Maseko and other artists that have tackled sensitive issues of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. “People can say anything they want but they must know that people don’t always do things for money, fame or asylum in the UK or Europe,” said Ndebele.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The arrest of Owen Maseko and the resultant closure of his exhibition has been a serious assault on Bulawayo’s creative fibre. The closing down of part of the gallery has had serious effects on the visual arts sector. Here are some of the consequences:</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1. Within a month the Looking to the Future statue which had found home at the gallery was pulled down and thrown into some dark room as it was suddenly deemed offensive by authorities.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">2. The bottom gallery that hosted Owen’s exhibition was closed indefinitely. Even today, 2 years later, this part of the gallery is still closed.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">3. The incident exposed the fragmentation and lack of solidarity among arts associations, unions and national bodies meant to protect artists.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">4. It also exposed the absence or lack of emergency support systems for artists, particularly when they get into trouble with the law.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">5. It led to serious self- censorship and fear of the unknown consequently leading to a period of reduced creativity.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">6. The closure of part of the gallery resulted in many artists failing to exhibit and consequently losing potential income. </span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">7. It also led to the tightening of exhibition rules/procedures at the gallery.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">8. It also meant many artists have to move and look for alternative spaces to exhibit their work away from the gallery.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">9. The artist Owen Maseko has been denied solo exhibition space and fears that his name has been tainted.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Two years after the closure of Maseko’s exhibition the gallery space is still closed and many artists have no clue why it is so. “They took pictures. Took all evidence they wanted. There are no reasons why the gallery is still closed. It’s just a way of demonstrating power and an effort to bully all artists into silence. Artists don’t know what is safe anymore. They are afraid.” </span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Perhaps this is true. When Owen Maseko’s troubles began the Visual Arts Association of Bulawayo (VAAB) said nothing. They failed to even issue a statement in support of their member. Almost two years later the association hasn’t said anything. “VAAB hasn’t done anything. It can’t do anything,” lamented one artist. The same can be said for the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe and the National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe. Maybe their silence stems from the fact that the two are quasi-government bodies and cannot say anything against the government. </span></div></div>arterialnetworkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374657044164144330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646962192150644991.post-7460956126496147602012-03-26T02:43:00.000-07:002012-03-26T02:43:12.143-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--> <m:smallfrac m:val="off"> <m:dispdef> <m:lmargin m:val="0"> <m:rmargin m:val="0"> <m:defjc m:val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent m:val="1440"> <m:intlim m:val="subSup"> <m:narylim m:val="undOvr"> </m:narylim></m:intlim> </m:wrapindent><!--[endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">The triumphs and tribulations of Arts and Culture in Cameroon- an Overview</span></b></div><div> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">By Mwalimu George Ngwane</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">On 30<sup>th</sup> May 1967, the first President of Cameroon, Ahmadou Ahidjo, declared at the Higher Council of National Education, Yaounde that “our preoccupation continues to be on the one hand that of ensuring a just balance between knowledge of the cultural values of the national patrimony and the knowledge of the universal values, and between knowledge of the past and knowledge of the contemporary world”.<span> </span>Five years (1972) after this declaration ace-musician Manu Dibango opened Cameroon’s artistic door to the comptemporary world through his blockbuster song ‘Soul Makossa’.<span> </span>The song only went to buttress the existence, hithereto in hibernation, of unharnessed talents in the creative sector in Cameroon. Immediately after Independence in 1960 and Reunification in 1961, live orchestras based on aggregate interest like the Bali Modern Jazz, Rock Steady Orchestra, West Cameroon Police Band, the Seven Angels of Crystal Garden etc became the mainstay in West Cameroon music while individual musical expressions of Nelle Eyoum, Ebanda Manfred, Anne Marie Nzie, and Messi Martin from East Cameroon blasted melodies that held at bay the fraternal invasion of music from the neighbouring countries. Eboa Lottin though mostly identified with indigenous gospel Makossa excelled in sculpture that his furniture fame made him a friend of most Heads of State in the Central Africa sub region.<span> </span>What is today known as Collywood (Cameroonian film industry) apparently draws its inspiration from the late 70s when the theatrical finesse of Victor Elame Musinga, Sankie Maimo and Guillaume Oyono Mbia attracted a full room in schools or Abbia, Capitol or Wouri cinemas.<span> </span>The pioneering creativity of these playwrights continue to provide succour for young professionals whether in plays or on cinema giving birth to artists like Hansel Eyoh, Bole Butake, Bate Besong ,Victor Epie Ngome, John Nkengasong, Daniel Kamwa,Jean Dikongue Pipa and Alphonse Beni.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">Paul Biya, the incumbent President of Cameroon, in his book ‘Communal Liberalism’ asserts that ‘culture is a school of responsibility which produces men (and women) who are ready to come to terms with themselves by assuming the values that they, in all consciousness, defined for themselves’.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">Accolades</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">The bounties of art/cultural awards have been a veritable harvest of our national existence.<span> </span>Jean Dikongue Pipa won the Golden Stallion Award in film in the mid 70s at the Film Festival in Burkina Faso called FESPACO.<span> </span>Jean Pierre Bekolo has now become a house-hold name in the world of celluloid cinema especially after his Silver Stallion award in FESPACO in 2007. Josephine Ndayou’s film ‘Paris à tout prix’ has drawn considerable reviews making her one of the few female film writers, after Sita Bella, to have shot to instant international acclaim. Bassek ba Kobio continues to inspire faith and raise hope among young film lovers in Cameroon through his annual film festival in Yaounde called ‘Ecran Noir’.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">The literature sector has had a mitigated harvest especially with the rise of creative resources against a backdrop of a withering home based publishing industry and the gradual transformation of bookshops into stationery stores and textbook warehouses. Immediately after Independence and Reunification, NOOREMAC Press in Limbe and Editions Cle in Yaounde midwifed many creative writers that have today blossomed into stardom. Paradoxically, and this is true of most African countries, writers that have excelled have had their awards more from abroad than from home.<span> </span>The cases of Ferdinand Leopold Oyono, Francis Bebey and Mongo Beti whose books were celebrated among Africa’s best 100 books of the 20<sup>th</sup> century during the Zimbabwe International Book Fair in 2002 come to mind.<span> </span>Their books like those of Mbella Sonne Dipoko were published and made popular by the African Writers Series at a time when the reading culture in Cameroon was still intact less corrupted by a robot addiction to digital technology. Even after long years of militant guerrilla writing in Cameroon, it needed the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) to recognise Bate Besong’s ingenuity as a playwright when the ANA award was conferred on him in 1992. </span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">Calixthe Beyala won the ‘Grand Prix du Roman de l’Academie Francaise’ in 1996.<span> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">A joint award of the Fonlon-Nichols prize was offered to the poet Rene Philombe and Mongo Beti in 1992 while Were Were Liking became the third Cameroonian to win the same award in 1993. Gaston Kelman,Patrice Nganang;Achille Mbembe, Francis Nyamnjoh and Juliana Makuchi<span> </span>all resident out of the country continue to make a large impact in creative discourse and cultural criticism in the continent and beyond. Cameroon’s publishing industry is being revamped with indigenous publishers like Buma Kor and Imprimerie Saint Paul but most especially by the Mankon-based and European retail outlet publishing house called Langaa Publishers as well as Miraclaire Publishing House. Created less than seven years ago Langaa has churned out more than eighty titles that showcase innovative writing skills of Anglophone Cameroon writers leading to the opening of channels for intergenre literary communication and the creation of EduArt awards by Cameroon literary critics Joyce Ashutangtang and Dibussi Tande.<span> </span>Blogging, promoted by Jimbi Media apart from being citizen journalism par excellence has now become an e-literature site with most Anglophone Cameroon creative writers transformed to bloggers. Yet major Writers’ Awards still elude the creative Cameroonian writer after fifty years in spite of the upsurge of books on our shelves.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">Were were Liking, a Cameroonian cultural manager, based in Ivory Coast won the Prince Claus Fund (PCF) award in 2000 for creating a special village for art education of young people. <span> </span>Samuel Fosso, a photographer living in Central Africa Republic won the PCF award in 2001 in recognition of his camera and his originality in photography.<span> </span>Doual’Art centre run by Marilyn Douala Bell and Didier Schaub is the only Cameroonian –based art house to have won the PCF award. It won the award in 2009 for its inspirational impact on the visual arts and on social and cultural development in Central Africa. The brushes of Max Sako Lyonga, Kouam, Spee Nzante and Irene Epie paint immortal pictures in the hearts of young people abroad and adorn the very few art galleries in Cameroon.<span> </span>It is difficult to forget the only Cameroonian Journalist Irene Nzana Fouda to have won the CNN African Journalism award in 2006, the musician Wes Madico who took the West by storm when he won the ‘disque diamant’ in 1996 or Richard Bona whose inspirational and mellifluous voice attracts thousands of music lovers in the most famous music halls around the world. BAAM and Achalle have represented Cameroon in the prestigious KORA Music Awards on separate occasions. No Cameroonian lady may have yet cat -walked into ‘Faces of Africa’ award but beauty pageantry which was originated from the then West Cameroon still offers a lot of hope especially when the celebration of physical feminity will genuinely respond to the African value system of beauty and when it resonates with the potentials of a creative economy for the laureates.<span> </span>The list is inexhaustive but what all these indicate is Cameroon’s prominent visibility in the creative landscape for the past fifty years and the resilience the artists has shown in the face of a tottering physical infrastructural deficiency and an absence of a systemic cultural policy that is artist-centred and home driven.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">Opportunities</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">The creation of the Ministry of Culture a few decades ago, today renamed Ministry of Arts and Culture, was arguably a launching pad for a cultural renaissance in Cameroon. The Ministry still remains a gateway for artistic blossoming if only like most Culture Ministries in Africa, it resists the temptation of civil service bureaucracy, the foibles of patronage and the virus of centralisation. Its flagship event FENAC or the Festival of Arts and Culture that was supposed to be holding every two years remains a veritable corridor for showcasing Cameroon’s tangible cultural heritage. It could be improved through opening an arts and culture market in the country and beyond for the artists and the creation of National Arts Councils in every Region of the country that provide the template for a new vision in the arts world as it obtains in West, East and Southern Africa. An arts market can be revamped through appropriate training, mentoring and business savvy for artists; transparent management of President Biya’s Art Grant at regional levels; a balanced bi-cultural identity policy, a holistic and equitable representation of the value chain of creativity in our cultural industry; and the inclusion of civil society art-related organisations’ prism into a new cultural roadmap.<span> </span>The Golden years of Independence and Reunification can only find relevance in a human development paradigm that unfortunately places most African countries at the bottom of the world’s economic pyramid. Now that creative industries have been recognised as one of the most dynamic economic sectors offering vast opportunities for cultural, social and economic development, the Ministry should be able to implement the Plan of Action on Cultural Industries that was signed by African Union Ministers of Culture in Algiers in 2008. But more importantly the Ministry of Art and Culture still needs to formulate a veritable cultural policy for Cameroon inspired by the proceedings of the National Art and Culture Forum that held in Yaounde from 23-26 August 1991 and by the cultural policy templates of African countries like Kenya, Namibia and Seychelles.<span> </span>However and contrary to some belief, the growth of arts and culture does not depend on the Ministry as it does on the private sector.<span> </span>This means a new aggressive entrepreneurial spirit must be energised by the business sector and corporate organisations into the enhancement of art and culture not as an image reputation or public relation exercise but as a product of corporate cultural responsibility.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">Way forward</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">The way forward is to celebrate individual artistic excellence as has been the case in the last years but with added administrative value in the manner which Indomitable lions of Football have been idolised in Cameroon. Apart from Canal 2 Television whose skewed and warped vision of Art Awards seems to celebrate only artists East of the Mungo, there has not been any consistent art award from the private sector and with a national prism. <span> </span>We need therefore to leverage the platform of mutual acceptability of our art icons on both sides of the Mungo so that while the West readily accepts X-Maleya,Petit Pays, Fadah Kawtal and Lady Ponce as gems of artistic excellence, the East must appreciate and recognise the musicians Ateh Bazore and Tata Kingue,the film Directors Gilbert Agbor, Kome Mathias, Achille Brice , Neba Lawrence and Musing Derrick ,the stylists Mark Ngwa, Celine Qui and<span> </span>Mbome Constance , the visual artists <span> </span>Lekuama Godwin, Shey Ngalla Wilibroad and Ngwese Nzimbi Koge<span> </span>,the archivist Primus Forgwei, the writers Sammy Akombi and Mathew Takwi and the Stand up comedians Hansel Masango and Nofuru Nshom Bali <span> </span>as jewels in the crown of artistic achievements in Cameroon. Any art form that borders on the commodification of art, the bastardisation of artists and the propagation of an ululation culture is anathema.<span> </span>Art advocates and cultural militants in Cameroon in collaboration with their counterparts in other African linkages like Arterial Network would have to craft a bigger picture of intercultural dialogue, cultural tourism and the status of the artist which all underpin the cultural dimension of development. But while this bigger picture is being crafted we should never forget that the village gets clean only when each one cleans their compound.<span> </span>How can we therefore explain that Cameroon’s urban cultural space especially West of the Mungo has been invaded by hip hop music, cinema, gospel songs, and couture from Nigeria? You only need to attend birth, marriage and death ceremonies or visit the Kumba and Tiko markets to attest to the full penetration of Naija music in the wombs of our indigenous creative sector. We need to counter-penetrate our neighbours’ art market by floating an Art and Culture TV channel and newsmagazine that showcase the various facets of our creative industry. Our traditional authorities need to reclaim their roles as custodians of culture and our local government authorities must factor art and culture activities within their budgets. Our cultural zones of silence embodied in our plethora of intangible cultural heritage would have to be given voices so they can speak through brick and brass, through clay and canvass, and through screen and scroll, the mindset of our collective memory and the heritage of our chequered history. The way forward lies in our artists’ ability to recognise the paramountcy of clustering and networking; to redeploy their success spin-offs through art investment in Cameroon; to drink deep from the fountain of cultural wealth modernised along the creative template of glocalisation, and to resist the syndrome of art at the service of political truimphalism and culture as the quintessence of status mobility.<span> </span>We can in the next fifty years create a more vibrant creative industry and even postulate as an African cultural capital if local companies take a corporate cultural responsibility in promoting arts, if administrative authorities at home and abroad disconnect cultural showcasing from mere folklore during national events and if Cameroonians start emulating the global trend of patriotically consuming their art goods and cultural services. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span>*Writer, PanAfricanist and Executive Director of AFRICAphonie (</span><span lang="FR"><a href="http://www.gngwane.com/"><span lang="EN-US">www.gngwane.com</span></a></span><span>; </span><span lang="FR"><a href="http://www.africaphonie.org/"><span lang="EN-US">www.africaphonie.org</span></a></span><span>)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div>arterialnetworkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374657044164144330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646962192150644991.post-41301024500701069702012-03-20T22:52:00.000-07:002012-03-20T22:52:37.256-07:00African creative industries: Artists as the ultimate wheels<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="text-align: center;"> <b>African creative industries: Artists as the ultimate wheels </b></h3><div> </div><div class="post-header" style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> <b><span style="background-color: white;">By Peter Musa</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"></span><b><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;">In the last decade a lot of attention has been placed on developing the African creative industries. National ministries responsible for the arts and culture, pan-African organizations such as; the African Union, the Observatory of Cultural Policies in Africa (OCPA) and the Arterial Network have been involved in this drive. International organizations such as the European Union through its African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) cultures<span style="font-family: inherit;"> program, </span><span style="line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">AECID (</span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">La </span><span class="Negrita" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo) and UNCTAD (the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) have all contributed to the development of the African creative economies so as numerous other donor organizations such as HIVOS and AFRICALIA; actively involved in supporting the creative sector in Africa. To build the African creative industries is a welcome initiative and artists in Africa feel happy that attention is being paid to their sector. Is this all?</span></span><br />
<span class="Negrita" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Negrita" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">In December 2011 a huge gathering on this topic was held in Nairobi, Kenya organized by the Arterial Network and the British Council. The pan-African conference on Africa's Creative Economy attracted delegates from across the continent. Much has been said about developing the creative industries in Africa, policy makers have their own agendas, donors have the priorities but the development of the creative sector in Africa largely lies in the hands of the artists themselves. Artists in Africa must take the lead to develop the sector.</span><br />
<span class="Negrita" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Negrita" style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">To succeed African artists need to learn to work with each other. They must learn to build partnerships, share information and collaborate for the interest of the growth of the sector. Artists in Africa should learn to work in unity and avoid conflicts that may lead to the destruction of the sector. National artists networks are being formed or existing ones are being </span></span><span style="line-height: 16px;">strengthened. The Arterial Network is putting in tremendous effort in this direction. Unless artists in Africa take the lead in developing the creative sector in Africa, it may not be as easy as it may look.</span></span><br />
<span class="Negrita" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Negrita" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">There may be good policies in place to develop the African creative industries in some countries. Policy makers however are not the ones who will run the industries. The artists are in-charge. Though at times the wrong people - none artists may be appointed by Government ministers responsible for the arts and culture to head projects or organizations in the sector. This may lead to a conflict of interest between politicians and the artists. As a result the desired objectives may never be realized.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Negrita" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Negrita" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">Artists lead initiatives are the best way to move forward. Unions and copyright organizations may be there to protect, guide and ensure that there are no infringements on the rights of the artists and their works. Individual artists are the ones who can effect a rapid development of the sector. Grouping into national artists networks is a welcome development but will change little if individual artists do not take their responsibilities. Miracles will not happen. Together growth is imminent in an environment where each artist is respected, information is not reserved for particular persons, no bias in selecting leadership and a culture of mutual respect built. Once all these are in place, a collaborative spirit will definitely bring the artists under focus which will be healthy for the growth of the sector in a particular community, region or country.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Negrita" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Negrita" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">Artists in Africa must become more professional. This means they must understand that their survival depends on what they can do. Good artists will excel, sell their creations and make a living for themselves and their families or dependents. Poor artists will not. This is where the difference is.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Negrita" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Negrita" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">As I said in my introductory paragraph a lot of talking on building the African creative industries has been on the agenda of many organizations over the last decade. Workshops, seminars and conferences have been organized throughout the continent and beyond in building the creative economy in Africa. During these sessions African artists are taken into dreamworlds. Afterwards nothing happens. Aspirations dashed. However a few projects have been identified and funded to encourage growth but the impact is yet to be felt. </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Negrita" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Negrita" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">Miracles will not happen to change things for African artists. The secret is if you are a performing or visual artist just perfect yourself and strive to do your best. You will make it. It is a great idea to belong to networks with like-minded individuals and to collaborate with other artists. But do not run out of focus. As an African artist that wants to make it, be yourself and continuously work hard in developing your talents. </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Negrita" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Negrita" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">African theater</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"> houses, spectacle spaces, art galleries and museums, music, book, film industries have a future in the hands of artists. African artists are the ones to promote these industries. It is their sector and they must take control of what belongs to them. Unless African artists are able to stand-up and do things without waiting for miracles the creative sector in Africa will not immediately develop as some lazy artists on the continent may think. Look around you there is much potential, see what other fellow artists are doing. This is the change that can completely impact a lasting difference on Africa's creative economy.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Negrita" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Negrita" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">Unless African artists learn to work together for the interest of the common-good of the creative sector in Africa the way may still be long. Together our cinematography, photography, publishing, and allied industries may continue to be largely underdeveloped. Artists in Africa need to know they are the owners of these industries and it is their duty individually and collectively to ensure its success today and for posterity.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Negrita" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Negrita" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"> </span></span></span><b><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></b></div></div>arterialnetworkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374657044164144330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646962192150644991.post-38813023433783169772012-02-22T23:51:00.000-08:002012-02-22T23:51:43.301-08:00A happy Monday Meeting: Cato Litangen MIMETA<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-weight: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">A happy Monday Meeting: Cato Litangen MIMETA<br />
<br />
It is six years since we created the idea, the seed, of Mimeta. ARTerial did not exist then, except as a name on our Monday meeting held at our offices. We started our work with a spring of assessments: What did the other European states do? Which networks existed? Which organizations were involved and how were they founded? What is culture and devel<span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show">opment, actually, and what are the needs?<br />
<br />
We were already anchored in the Norwegian Strategy for sport and culture development, which had been launched some few months earlier. Human Rights were the basis! Cultural production and participation is a human right covered in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights... we figured out here in the snow white north.<br />
<br />
In late summer we visited Morten Paulsen at the Danish Center for Culture and Development. He had just been in conversation with Paul van Paashen from Hivos. They had agreed to organize a conference related to the spread of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. We decided to make a joint venture, with Hivos in their planned initiative as a bookkeeper and programmer. Ideas evolved and a conference on Revitalising African Cultural Asserts was organised in March 2007 on Goree, not in February, not in Ouagadougou! <br />
<br />
The original focus on the convention was left for an extensive, three days planning session on the development of an African cultural sector. A full, three year development document being driven by an elected Task Team was the first result, then a secretariat and a steering committee. In some months a number of project proposals were put on our desks. Please Let us do it Now!! - was an ultimatum that came from Cape Town to our first joint donor-meeting in Amsterdam.<br />
<br />
The name of our dull Monday meeting has turned into something totally different - to ARTerial Network - and five intense and engaging years of discussions, strategic partnerships, sparring and collaboration, with the ARTerial representatives, but also with Hivos, Doen Foundation and Africalia. Through these dialogues our own mission has become clearer, and our perspectives on culture and development have emerged through these conversations. And our seed finally became our flower in 2009: Mimeta, a Norwegian center for culture and development. <br />
<br />
So, thanks ARTerial Network, for the progress you made for the independent arts- and culture sector on the continent. And not to forget the many resources, individuals and organizations, that you have attracted through these five years. Without it our work would have seemed like a continuous Monday.<br />
<br />
But sometimes in life you are struck by luck!</span></span></span></h6></div>arterialnetworkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374657044164144330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646962192150644991.post-71281597826843353572012-02-13T00:21:00.000-08:002012-02-13T00:21:45.365-08:00The Answer is ‘Yes’. Now, what’s the question?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b> by Ade Solange</b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">The best part of the African Creative Economy Conference? Being in the company of some of the most energetic and inspiring movers and shakers in the arts I’ve ever met.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">Arterial Network, the conference organisers, brought together 120 artists, arts managers and policy makers from 36 African countries for its first African Creative Economy conference in Nairobi last month. We packed into the Desmond Tutu Conference Centre in Westlands for four days, addressing an equally packed agenda.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">Building regional and international markets for African creative goods and services, reducing dependency, the challenges of north-south collaboration, intellectual property rights, creative economy research in Africa ... just some of the topics covered. The bottom line: how to develop and maximise the economic potential of African creativity.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">Movers and shakers? People like Kenyan Joy Mboya, Executive Director of Nairobi’s renowned GoDown Arts Centre, who presented the Keynote session on the creative economy and Africa, looking at the current global picture (in which Africa’s current share of the global economy is less than 1%) and looking forward to the day when “we are ourselves our own market and our work is globally appreciated and sought.”</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">Who’ll help make that great leap forward? To mention just a few: Thabiso Mashaba, still in his early twenties and the dynamic entrepreneur behind Black Audio Fire Investments, a music and arts development business in Botswana; Sauda Simba, director of Trinity promotions, Tanzania, a musician and arts management consultant, and one of the driving forces behind Tanzania’s newly-launched, state-of-the-art venue, House of Culture.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">Equally inspiring was Korkor Amarteifio from Ghana, Director of the Institute for Music and Development, Accra, who shared her ambitious vision for an African creative cities network.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">She’s just taken over as Chairperson of Arterial and is moving full steam ahead with her plans to revitalise a low-income part of Accra. Other West African dynamos were Deji Olatoye, of Committee for Relevant Art (CORA) in Lagos, and Tade Adekunle, an entreprenur and actor, both Nigerian.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">I took part in the event as a member of the British Council delegation, (along with Makeda Coaston and Carly Frey from the UK). Our contingent was made up of colleagues from British Council offices and associated projects around the continent, including the above-mentioned Deji and Sauda, David Muriithi from Kenya, Mustapha Khogali and Mewahib Mohammed from Sudan, Juliet Amoah and Samuel Appiah Kubi from Ghana, and Erica Elk and Avril Joffe from South Africa. </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">My mission? To contribute a diaspora perspective and to form partnerships and build bridges for British-African work in Africa. And the response? Well, Oliver Twist would have been jealous. If Dickens’ hungry waif had asked his famous ‘please, sir, can I have some more?’’ question here, he’d been buried by the word ‘yes’.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"> “I have a play about diaspora Africans. Do you think people in your country might be interested?” I asked the man behind me in the tea queue at morning break on the first day. “ Oh, yes,” he said. “My name Daniel Maposa. I work in theatre in Zimbabwe.” He immediately beckoned a large, smiling teddy-bear of a man a few feet away. “Have you spoken to Josh? Josh, JOSH! Come over here a minute ... there’s some-one you must meet.”</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">Josh Nyapimbi, Chairman of the Zimbabwe Theatre Association and director of the Nhimbe theatre project in Zimababwe, joined us, in turn calling over Bjorn Maes, a former actor/director from Belgium and now Africalia’s Southern Africa officer. His funding body supports Josh’s project. ”Sounds interesting,’ they all agreed. Before long we were scribbling ideas on serviettes. “Have you met Elvas Mari, director of the Zimababwe National Arts Council? He’s here too. Make sure you talk to him, ” they advised, as we were called back to the conference room.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">Others were just as enthusiastic. “Any good theatres in Nairobi?” I asked the woman in front of me as we queued for lunch a few hours later. “Oh, I have a theatre,” she said, passing me the rice and her business card. Marion van Dijck, Director of the Sarakasi Trust. “Call me.”</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">And this was just on the first day. Exhilarating! I’d come hoping to generate some interest in my play, ‘Pandora’s Box,’ a family drama about choosing whether to send kids back to Africa from the diaspora. Before I knew it, I was planning a tour. “We have the same tensions and struggles about living on the continent or elsewhere all over Africa,” said one person. “You’ve hit on a universal theme.” The friendliness, openness and eagerness to do business were quite staggering. During breaks, on the bus to and from the hotel, at the evening social events ... “that sounds great” ... “ why don’t you speak to ” ...“come visit us” ...”I’d love to help.”</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">I’d felt a bit nervous about presenting my paper, on the role of people like me, living outside Africa. ‘But what are you, British or African?” Farai Mpfunya of Zimbabwe’s Culture Fund, had asked me, baffled, one day. Gulp!</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">How can ‘Africans abroad’ connect and contribute to African creativity? How can the ‘55<sup>th</sup> African state’ – the African diaspora – help develop and sell African and African-heritage culture in Europe, America and Africa, and elsewhere? Can the diaspora voice and experience, often a rival to home-grown art and culture, be marketed in a way in Africa that both serves, and benefits from, African creative expression generally?</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">Yes, was the answer. With open minds and open arms we discussed some of the roles diaspora artists might play, and what approaches, relationships and structures would help maximise our potential contribution.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">Four days passed too quickly. Final high point? Ethiopian singer Munit Mesfin’s heart-felt rendition of Bob Marley’s ‘Africa Unite,’ as we ate and danced our farewells at a delicious dinner and party on the last night. (Arterial’s hospitality was superb throughout). I cried (not the only one) as she sang the song: it summed up what we were doing.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">The gracious and unflappable Mulenga Kapwepwe, a Zambian writer and Arterial’s (outgoing) Chairperson, and South African Mike van Graan, Arterial’s industrious Secretary General, led a team delivering an excellent conference.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">Arterial is poised to make an even bigger impact on the global cultural landscape. The organisation is growing, currently advertising for a new Secretary General and a Sustainability Manager to take it forward.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">There are chapters in most African countries, and Regional Secretariats throughout Africa. They’re also setting up discipline-specific networks and are interested in exploring setting up a diaspora chapter. </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b>Contact </b></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="il">Ade</span> Solanke</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Writer/Producer</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Spora Stories</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span><a href="tel:%2B%2044%20%280%297796%20151%20845" target="_blank" value="+447796151845">+ 44 (0)7796 151 845</a></span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.sporastories.com/" target="_blank">www.sporastories.com</a></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div></div>arterialnetworkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374657044164144330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646962192150644991.post-63283981900218415392012-01-30T07:20:00.001-08:002012-01-30T07:20:09.308-08:00Artists and Politics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--> <m:smallfrac m:val="off"> <m:dispdef> <m:lmargin m:val="0"> <m:rmargin m:val="0"> <m:defjc m:val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent m:val="1440"> <m:intlim m:val="subSup"> <m:narylim m:val="undOvr"> </m:narylim></m:intlim> </m:wrapindent><!--[endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Background</span></i></b></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">One of the suggestions that came out of the African creative economy conference’s round table on the African Union and its Plan of Action on cultural industries was that artists should also join politics and get appointed to senior government positions so that they protect the interest of the artist and implement policies that promote the development of the creative industries. This is because most of the Ministers and government officials appointed by governments to lead arts and culture ministries are usually politicians who know very little, if any, about the cultural industries, hence they end up doing nothing for the industry. </span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">For sometime now, I have been following the hot topic of Youssou N’Dour, a prominent musician from Senegal’s political ambitions. He has set out to challenge President Abdoulaye Wade in the forthcoming presidential elections. If N’Dour wins the elections could this be a breakthrough for the Senegalese cultural industries? The article below explores the issue of N’Dour’s ambitions at length.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Youssou N'dour - President?</span></b></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">By Bram Posthumus,</span></i></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">"Who will Youssou sing for?" That was the question a national daily asked on its front page on January 2. On the same day, he gave the answer: Youssou N'Dour will be singing for himself.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The contrast could not have been greater. On New Year's Eve, Senegal's state television showed the country's geriatric president Abdoulaye Wade struggling through a national address, hollow-eyed, his voice faltering. Two days later, a fresh and sprightly Youssou N'Dour used his own television station TFM to announce his candidacy for the presidential elections, to be held at the end of February.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">An extraordinary life</span></b></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The announcement did not come entirely as a surprise. Politics is the next stage in the extraordinary life of a man who was born in 1959 in Medina, a poor suburb on the doorstep of the city's business and administration centre.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">His voice was the gift that sent him to the stage at a very young age. In the 1970s this boy soprano belted out Latin-tinged repertoire, just like the Orchestre Baobab, the leading band in those days. But Youssou N'Dour was about to wipe out that music and replace it with a new, fast and furious dance style.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">With his band Le Super Étoile de Dakar he first conquered his own country - and then the world. And at an early stage, he put his music to use for good causes. He took part in the Human Rights Now mega concerts Amnesty International organised in 1988 (I saw him perform that year in Harare, Zimbabwe, next door to the apartheid regime). Twenty years later, he was a guest star at the African alternative to Live Aid, organised by his good friend Peter Gabriel. But his mainstay remained mbalax, Senegal's frenetic national pulse.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Citizen's movement</span></b></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A night club, a studio - nothing was stopping Youssou N'Dour. He founded Future Media and now owns a radio station, Senegal's best selling newspaper L'OBS (a racy mix of sleaze, journalism and sport) and TFM. And he was eyeing the political kingdom. He was in good books with Abdoulaye Wade for quite a while - but that was before he had an almighty row with the government over the endless delays for his television station.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And now N'Dour is pulling the strands of his extra-musical activities together, using his television station and a brand new citizen's movement he launched at the end of last year as platforms for his presidential bid.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Advantages</span></b></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">He has a few advantages. First, he is self-made. Second, he is a bona fide patriot. This is what he said announcing his candidacy: 'I do not have two passports and have no possessions outside Senegal. Everything I have gained I have invested here.' A none-too-subtle dig at those who feign national loyalty while siphoning off their wealth to offshore bank accounts. Third, he is no professional politician; he does not belong to that class of people who transit from one political party to another for personal gain.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Rap</span></b></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The big question for N'Dour is: will his fan-base translate into "votes"? The first crop of reactions on the popular website Seneweb suggests: not necessarily. At 52, he himself is gradually replaced by another generation of musicians who wield political influence. The opposition against president Wade's highly controversial bid for a third term in office is led by rap artists from areas even poorer than Medina. They are the basis of the new youth movements M23 and Y'en a marre (We're fed up). Whenever they hold a rally, Youssou N'Dour is careful to show up.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Your comments…..</span></div></div>arterialnetworkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374657044164144330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646962192150644991.post-43928362620035826292012-01-18T00:24:00.000-08:002012-01-18T00:24:09.663-08:00Gambia: Globalization and Culture<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="date" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b><i> Article by Sanna Jawara17 January 2012</i></b></div><div class="date" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Ramifications of globalization in all aspects of human life across the world are visible, especially on our rich traditional and cultural norms and values. Our lives and ways of living are no longer what they used to be centuries ago, when people hardly travel beyond their immediate environment or settlements, contrary to the current trend as exhibited in mass migration both internal and external.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Globalization has made the world became a thin global village. We don't have to go that far to see the economic theories relating to globalization and its impacts on our lives either individually or collectively. Our lives have now been inundated with introduction of different products and services; ranging from computers, sophisticated laptops, micro phones, mobile phones, wireless internet connections and so on, all of which help in the rapid transformation of our lives.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">However, we must acknowledge that everything on this planet has its own merits and demerits and globalization is not an exception to this reality. In as much as we speak about its importance, we must also not lose sight of its side effects, especially where our traditional and cultural norms and values are concerned.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">However, the motivation to come up with this issue stems from a day-long debate on the subject by the University of The Gambia and De Montfort University of UK, held last Friday in the main hall of the UTG at the Brikama Campus. At the said debate, the concept of globalization was delved into by many eminent scholars and academics who all acknowledged the importance and side effects of the subject.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Prominent developments such as the dvent of science and technology in the 21st century, the introduction of some major economic policies by the world's most powerful financial institutions; such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB); as well as the 9/11th 2001 terror attack on the US, the reactions of the US to the said inhumane action among other global issues greatly affected international relations and the ordinary business of life.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">We must appreciate and acknowledge the speed and scope that globalization has gone ºbeyond the imagination of an ordinary person, because it cuts across all sectors of life including our cultural norms and values. Its impact is felt and affects virtually everything we do and say in this world. What life used to be in our traditional settings has now been greatly shaped and directed by aculturation through the influences of globalization.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Rapid industrialization accompanied by rapid migrations at local, national, sub-regional, regional and global levels are evidences of globalization, where in people could travel thousands of miles within minutes and hours contrary to when people used to travel on either foot or other primitive tools to far distance places.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">The world of tourism stands out as a typical example about the effects of globalization to which our little Gambia is not an exception. The Gambia like other African countries has rich traditional cultural values, but with the world coming together as one big village, with such a speed and scope, things are no longer what they used to be as far as promotion, protection and preservation of our cherished cultures are concerned.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">We have seen and felt the effects of tourism on our education, skills, labour force, brain drains among others. The unprecedented attitudinal change in our youths towards national development, which contrasted the way and manner an ideal Gambian or African child is brought up and prepared to take his or her rightful place in societal development and welfare of the family, community and nation at large. The short skirts, high shoes and other unusual forms of dresses exposing our bodies to the hazards of our immediate environment among others attest to this fact.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><strong>The way forward</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="relevant-inset rightinset" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">To balance the impacts of globalization, as highlighted at the recent UTG De Monfort lecture Africa must adapt to the changing circumstances brought about by globalization. It was further argued that the world is no longer what it used to be when it comes to advancement in science and technology and as such the continent must either join the trend of globalization or be left behind for the worst consequences.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">The only way out as others will call it, is 'thinking out of the box'; for Africa to build on its development sectors to cope with the spirit of globalization. We must build on our educational systems, health, agriculture, infrastructure among others. The youths must be ready and willing to embrace change and make effective and efficient use of latest scientific equipment at their disposal, while at the same time striving to promote our culture at all times. We cannot ignore the importance of science and technology brought to our door steps by globalization, all what is expected of us is the total change of attitude accompanied with a deep sense of self awareness.</div></div>arterialnetworkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374657044164144330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646962192150644991.post-13066314644180996282012-01-10T21:40:00.000-08:002012-01-10T21:40:05.504-08:00Cultural cooperation: Is it beneficial to Uganda?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">By Nsaba Buturo<br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">In October last year, in one of the leading newspapers, Ambassador Thorbjorn Gaustadsaether wrote an article entitled: ‘UMOJA using culture as a development tool’. I was interested in the article for two main reasons: The first is that the writer is his country’s ambassador to Uganda. The second was his view that culture can be used as a ‘development’ tool.<br />
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Concerning the first reason, something rarely seen in most other nations is happening in Uganda. The world over, diplomats who are accredited to represent their countries are guided by international diplomatic practices. One of those practices is that a diplomat should never engage openly in governance matters of their host nations.<br />
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This means that they are not expected to issue press statements or write their views in the local press on policy (economic, social and political) matters of the host nation. Such matters are the preserve of national governments.<br />
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When foreign diplomats happen to have concerns, they privately and not publicly discuss them with host governments through the Foreign Affairs ministry.<br />
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What is happening in Uganda is not normal practice! Some foreign diplomats are in the habit of violating international diplomatic practices by regularly making statements on policy issues that should be the preserve of the government of Uganda.<br />
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Ugandans who have seen this happen with increasing frequency will be excused to think that some of these foreign diplomats are now Ugandan officials! If our government does not chide them for conducting themselves undiplomatically, Ugandans will become more confused!<br />
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The second reason for my interest in the article was the ambassador’s opinion that culture can be a development tool. Unfortunately, he was not specific about how culture can be such a tool. The world over, nations have different cultures or value standards.<br />
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For example, in Ugandan societies, polygamy is an accepted practice. In European societies, it is frowned upon. In some nations, sodomy and bestiality, for example, are ‘human rights’ issues whereas in Uganda, they are not!<br />
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Mr Ambassador, when nations have such divergent value standards, how does cultural cooperation work? Any such cooperation should never be used by one society as a smokescreen for introduction of practices which others regard as inimical to their interests.<br />
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The ambassador also opined in the article that the overriding objective of cultural cooperation is to strengthen both the cultural sector and civil society in the South so that the latter become change agents in favour of good governance.<br />
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This objective is loaded with a condescending attitude! In this sense, what the ambassador appears to call cultural cooperation is not a two-way exchange! By asserting that the cultural sector in the South, which includes Uganda, is weak and needs strengthening, the ambassador is falling into the familiar syndrome of ‘we know what they want better than they do themselves’! If this is what the ambassador calls cultural cooperation, then it is a sanitised version of cultural imperialism!<br />
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In order to impose their cultural order on weaker countries, stronger nations are now using different tactics. For example, Ugandan rural societies are being introduced to practices that they would gladly as well as bravely resist were it not for the fact that such introduction is often accompanied with promises of much needed services such as schools and water.<br />
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In other cases, non-governmental organisations, writers, television personalities, academicians, musicians, media and the Internet literature are being used to spread foreign cultural values.<br />
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No, what Uganda really needs is not cultural cooperation that paves way for entry of values that undermine ours. She needs respect! She also needs demonstrable willingness by wealthy nations to give her space to industrialise her economy for self-sufficiency.<br />
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The type of development cooperation which Uganda needs is one that also respects both her sovereignty and national values. To our government, a nation is strong when its culture and values are not adulterated or imposed from elsewhere. </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div>arterialnetworkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374657044164144330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646962192150644991.post-87426032501769213722011-11-15T00:36:00.000-08:002011-11-15T00:36:09.831-08:00Africa challenged to come up with indigenous philosophy of development<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Africa needs to come up with an indigenous philosophy of development determined and influenced by the mores of traditional values derived from its own linguistic and cultural repertoire, a university lecturer from the department of African Languages and Literature, University of Zimbabwe, has said.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Angeline Masowa, who spoke on Friday at a Conference on African Renaissance, Integration, Unity and Development in Pretoria, South Africa noted that the western model of development posed as the benchmark, which every nation wishing to be regarded as developed, had to follow, with the requirements of development dictated by the west.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">She said development, just like any other aspect of society like philosophy, the arts, religion among others, was culture-relative.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">“Development that is holistic is what is needed in Africa, development that covers the whole person, cultural development, social development, economic development as well as political development. All these have to be drawn and linked to our own values and principles we celebrate as Africans,” Masowa stated in her paper, “African philosophy of development as expressed in Shona proverbs” which she presented at the conference which ended on Friday.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The paper examined indigenous knowledge systems, particularly proverbs, in order to understand African perspective about development. It also analysed the African peoples' perspectives with regard to the question of development as expressed in their arts and beliefs.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Masowa explained that because of multi-ethnic and linguistic structure of Africa, it was impossible in her paper to examine and exhaust African philosophy of development as expressed in all African proverbs and that was why the Shona proverbial lore was used as illustrative example.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">“Our understanding of development is anchored in our own culture, philosophy of development and traditional experience,” Masowa said.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">She arguing that Africa had its own philosophy of development which was clearly outlined and embedded in its proverbial lore and if Africans were to go on with development, there was great need to go back to the source (our own oral art forms), to find tried and tested solutions to our problems.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Masowa cited a Shona adage, “Zano pangwa uine rako,” (It is better to get advice from someone when you also have got yours), saying this proverb rightly pointed out the importance of formulating Africa’s own models of development rather than simply borrowing ideas, information and models from foreigners because the ideas might not suit the situation in Africa.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">“It is highly imperative for Africa to work towards the formulation of its own development plans because past experiences have shown that models and theories we have borrowed from the North have done us more harm than good. African nations have not been formulating their own models and this has had serious implications and reparations.” </span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">“This conference’s main theme is African renaissance, integrity, unity and Development, which means that Africans have realised that for long they have been cheated and bribed by the north through copying and borrowing models wholesale, without thorough evaluation and assessment and these models have proved to be of not much use so now it is high time we need to formulate our own models of development that suit the African ways of life and that place Africans at the centre,” she said.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Masowa, stressed the need for Africa to draw from its rich indigenous knowledge systems, lessons of sustainable development and desist from the idea of merely borrowing foreign theories which had proved to be detrimental to the development of Africa.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The conference, attended by scholars and practitioners, was organised by the African Union’s African Academy of Languages, in collaboration with the Institute for African Renaissance Studies, University of South and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance ( IDEA).</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Pana 01/10/2011</span></div></div>arterialnetworkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374657044164144330noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646962192150644991.post-17571049007480452252011-11-14T01:14:00.000-08:002011-11-14T01:31:29.695-08:00Culture and Development Issues<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><m:smallfrac m:val="off"> <m:dispdef> <m:lmargin m:val="0"> <m:rmargin m:val="0"> <m:defjc m:val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent m:val="1440"> <m:intlim m:val="subSup"> <m:narylim m:val="undOvr"> </m:narylim></m:intlim> </m:wrapindent> </m:defjc></m:rmargin></m:lmargin></m:dispdef></m:smallfrac><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Culture and Development Issues </span></b></div><div></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">One of the round table discussions at the Creative Economy Conference is entitled Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): development, culture and the creative industries: friends or foes? This is such an interesting topic which comes at a time when Africa is battling with MDGs. I just thought it important to share with you <span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">an extract from a detailed report prepared for the INCD by Burama K. Sagnia (2005) on that issue.Below is the extract.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Until recently, most development agencies regarded cultural factors as of no concern or serious impact to social and economic development. This lack of concern has often led to failures in reaching the poor. This is what eventually created interest in the need to take cultural issues into account in development frameworks and processes. If development plans, programmes and projects cannot move forward because of the failure of taking cultural issues into account in the implementation process, it becomes imperative that the planning process take this aspect into consideration.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In any local situation, there are cultural values and institutions that can support, constrain or even completely frustrate well-meant development programmes and projects. Examples of development interventions failing to promote quality of life and overall well-being because of their incompatibility with the cultural values and institutions of the populations concerned are numerous and well-documented. The attempt here is to organise a brief discussion around some of the key development concerns and the cultural issues involved.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The international community crafted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) from the Millennium Declarations, which has set out specific and quantifiable goals for human development by the year 2015. The eradication of extreme poverty and hunger is recognised by these goals as among the most central challenges before human society. For some time, the dominant view was that poverty could be addressed by raising economic standards through the “trickle down effects” of economic growth. Obviously, economic growth creates the capacity to reduce poverty and, given enough time, it may actually do so. But, experience across many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa for example (UNECA, 2005), has raised growing doubts as to whether it is feasible to attain the MDGs without mobilising more fully the under-utilised capacities of the poor, notably their culture. This makes it imperative that the issue of poverty is addressed from a broad-based and holistic perspective, taking into account the role of women, children and young people, the traditional cultural institutions and values and related problems such as environmental degradation, social stability and the HIV/AIDS pandemic.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Developing a clear understanding of who are the poor has often been crowded with myths and misconceptions that have come in the way of developing effective strategic responses to take advantage of their dormant and under-utilized capacities and competences. UNCTAD (2004) maintains that “poverty is associated with unexploited productive potential, inequalities within countries and in the global economy, and also non-inclusive national development processes”. As if to buttress the UNCTAD conceptual point of view, the United Nations Global Monitoring Report (2004) for the Millennium Development Goals, did admonish that in order to achieve the MDGs there is an urgent need to implement the “global bargain” whereby developing countries will seriously integrate these goals, and in particular the poverty reduction objectives, into their national development strategies, and the developed countries provide a fair and just enabling framework and the necessary resources.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The “global bargain” implies work on multiple fronts, including market access and debt relief, increased and more effective development assistance, better governance and the full and effective engagement of all stakeholders, including the private sector and civil society. While developing countries themselves have the primary responsibility for poverty reduction, there is an upper limit to how much they can achieve without appropriate international policies, development funding and the dismantling of oppressive barriers.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Read the full report here <a href="http://www.incd.net/docs/Sagnia%20Report%20-%20Strengthening%20Local%20Creative%20Industries.pd">http://www.incd.net/docs/Sagnia%20Report%20-%20Strengthening%20Local%20Creative%20Industries.pd</a></span></div></div>arterialnetworkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374657044164144330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646962192150644991.post-9462378595001688292011-11-10T02:50:00.000-08:002011-11-10T02:50:07.896-08:00Revival of kenyan cultural community festival<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Bomas of Kenya has revived community cultural festivals to identify cultural ambassadors for all Kenyan Community and create awareness on what culture is all about and why it should be marketed to tourism markets to complement the usual repertoire of wild animals , mountains, beaches and the like.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">‘’Culture has for long been misunderstood by many people a showcase of people’s backwardeness, primitivity and other negative aspects,’’ says Bomas of Kenya General Manager Quresh Ahmed . But this is far from the case and a complete fallacy, says the General Manager of Bomas of Kenya one of the Kenya’s leading cultural centre which is based in Nairobi. Culture ,, he says, is about a people’ s way of life, their heritage and language ,pride and uniqueness as a people . Everyone , he says, has a cultural heritage that shapes their view of life and their individual identity.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">To create awareness about the important of culture , as an important tourism attraction and peoples identity . Bomas of Kenya and the Ministry of Tourism started the Community Cultural Festival in 2006. That year a festival for the Turkana Community was held at the banks of Lake Turkana. It was meant, like all the others that followed, to help Kenyans, the world and the Turkana themselves who they were , where they were coming from, their lifestyle and other social aspects of that community.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">‘’It was a great beginning and success and those involved now understood the Turkana better, says Bwire Ojiambo, Bomas Production Manager.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The following year Mijikenda cultural festival was held in Mombasa and a Meru Cultural Festival was held at Kinooru Stadium, in Meru Town. After that, there were some hiccups and the event became dormant, until this year when it was revived with a Samburu and Ilchamus Cultural Festival at the Bomas of Kenya two weeks ago.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The organizers say that there is no going back this time until all cultural festivals are held for all Kenyan Communities.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">During the festivals, the participants showcase their cultural dances, foods, cultural rites, artfacts, musical instruments, dress and other things that define who are . In the Samburu festival fir example, all these were showcased, and the pupils marveled, asked and were answered on all cultural aspects of the Samburu..</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The events are also used to identify cultural ambassadors , who promote their cultures ambassadors in many forums both local and abroad. One such ambassadors is Senan Kanana, 22 years old who has been a Meru Cultural ambassadors in many forums including the International tourism bourse in Berlin, Germany .’’I have finished my bachelors of commerce degree in Marketing, as I look for a job, I am currently involving in organizing charity events to promote peace and unity and education through my foundation called Speaking for Good Foundation’’ she said.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Another ambassador, Jecinta Engolan of the Turkana has immersed herself in cultural affairs and has started a Turkana dress and artifact shop in Lodwar. She attends the shop when she is not travelling to preach the cultural gospel. Another ambassador is Tony Bahati of the Mijikenda in the Coast.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The next festival will feature the Teso people and will be held in Bomas of Kenya, followed by Somali and Kalenjin.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Participants are chosen by organizers at the grassroots level, with practicing ones being guven priority. It is a tall order to organize successful events for all Kenyan communities, and it will be interesting to see how the organizers will measure the impact of their initiative.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">By ANTHONY NJAGI</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%;"><a href="mailto:tonyjagi@hotmail.com" target="_blank">tonyjagi@hotmail.com</a></span></div>arterialnetworkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374657044164144330noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646962192150644991.post-74846682202958407752011-10-14T02:51:00.000-07:002011-10-14T02:51:30.515-07:00African Creative Cities Network where are we missing the point?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">African Creative Cities Network where are we missing the point?</span></b></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">by Florence Mukanga</span></b></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">The views expressed in this article are entirely of the author</span></b></div><br />
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<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">UNESCO, the Korean National Commission for UNESCO and Seoul Metropolitan Government will be hosting an International Conference of UNESCO Creative Cities Network from 16 to 18 November, 2011. The UNESCO Creative Cities Network, which was launched by UNESCO in 2004, aims to enhance the creative, social, and economic potential of cities by fostering their creative industries. Structured around the seven themes of literature, cinema, music, design, media arts, gastronomy, and folk art and crafts, the Creative Cities Network encourages cities to utilise their cultural assets in developing specific creative industries.[1]<br />
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Just by examining the main aim of this network one can see enormous opportunities that such a network presents to subscribing cities.<br />
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The Creative Economy Report published in 2010 says an increasing number of cities are using the concept of “creative cities” to design urban development strategies for re-invigorating growth with focus on culture and creative activities. <br />
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What disturbs me is the extent to which Africa has embraced these new ideas. I am not saying that Africa must copy all ideas that originate from other continents…but there are some ideas which are certainly worth emulating! <br />
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While it is encouraging to note that in March 2010 there was a Forum in Accra from to discuss the creation of an African Creative Cities Network and the modalities for the advancement of the African Cultural Capital project; with the meeting elaborating the minimal criteria that a city is expected to meet when applying to become affiliated to the African Creative Cities Network, it is disheartening to see that nothing much has come out of this conversation.<br />
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I may not be informed as to whether there have been follow-up meetings to this forum or whether something finally materialised from process. As a young cultural practitioner, it worries me that such brilliant ideas might end up dying a natural death or getting shelved, with no course of action.<br />
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In Africa we are tired of talk shows that do not yield to something tangible. I am eagerly waiting to hear about the final establishment of the network and to see our mother body- the African Union playing an active role just to ensure that the network takes off and flies high.<br />
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There are many positive aspects of having such kind of a network it helps our cities to collectively market themselves and their creative industries, it boosts cultural tourism around our cities, creates good names for our cities and attracts more investments in the cultural infrastructure. <br />
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Imagine a network linking the magnificent African cities of Maputo, Bulawayo, Johannesburg, Accra, Dakar, Nairobi, Kampala, Lagos, Port Louis, Cairo, Casablanca, Kigali and Yauonde; a network collectively celebrating the diversity of creative expressions of East, West, Central, North and Southern Africans; a network facilitating greater cultural collaboration even between local organisations within these cities; a network that will link the beautiful arts festivals and great African cultural events that take place in these cities! What an awesome network it can be!<br />
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</div>arterialnetworkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374657044164144330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646962192150644991.post-55916083634007127802011-10-05T00:34:00.000-07:002011-10-05T00:34:41.414-07:00Is Local Art Safe On the Internet?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b> By Tony Monda</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Gone are the halcyon days of contemporary Zimbabwean stone sculpture of the 1980s and 1990s, when over 1 860 cultural visitors per season chose Zimbabwe as a prime tourist destination.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Art galleries could boast of having a minimum (at the least), of 20 visitors per month each. International art patrons, scholars, business people and cultural tourists marvelled at our rich local culture immortalised in stone sculpture. They bought and bartered the art and carried out research of our culture. Zimbabwean artists lived well, fed and educated their families and contributed meaningfully to their respective communities - as is the norm in Shona tradition.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Some of the top artists even invested in real estate, agricultural projects and small-holder farming enterprises.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A good example of philanthropy was Springstone International Art Gallery of Avondale, which opened in the early 1990s, run by a local interior design consultant, art collector and cultural activist Michelina Andreucci. It was a trail blazing art gallery with an archival collection of stone sculpture dating back to its beginnings in 1956.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">History of Cyber Marketing of Zimbabwean Art;</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The gallery introduced the first Zimbabwean sculpture cyber marketing concept in the early 1990s, with Zimtrade. It boasted of the best designed websites of monumental and cabinet sculpture produced in Zimbabwe to date.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Chronological categories of art and artists were collated with cutting edge academic cultural research and analysis of the works, state of the art analogue and digital photography and captivating biographer that recorded the essence of the work and their artists. The gallery advocated for local connoisseurship of the arts and introduced fair international pricing for sculpture. It also offered education and scholarships for the artists and upheld the protection of the artist's rights.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Outstanding "new signatures" emerging artists were promoted and nurtured to ensure a continuity of the genre. As a result many top sculptors such as Nicholas Mukomberanwa, Lazarus Takawira, Sylvester Mubayi, Fanizani Akuda , Henry Munyaradzi, Boira and Richard Mteki, Peter Mandala, Joram Mariga, Joseph Ndandarika, Zachariah Njobo, Bernard Matemera, Edward Chiwawa and sons, Maxwell Gochera, Albert Mamvura, Anderson Mukomberanwa, victor Mtongwizo, Dereck Macheka, Bernard and John Takawira, Paul Gwichiri, Stanford Derere, Harry Mutasa, Moses Masaya, and others supported the enterprise and had their works flighted on the internet for the first time. The images on the net were internationally protected and copyrighted which was an adequate measure for the time.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Website Art Alert</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Fifteen years on, the gallery ran its course and tourism slumped and many veteran artists passed on. Today, young Zimbabwean artists are creating their own websites as information and publicity mechanisms for self-promotion. But how safe are the images and information from hackers, conmen and most of all the Chinese, American, Belgian and Dutch forgers who have made the Internet a new frontier for the exploitation, replication, colonisation and ownership of Indigenous African culture and art?</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This writer has been approached by several prominent Zimbabwean artists with complaints of seeing replicas of their work on the Internet on Euro-American websites. My work on the net is being widely plagiarised and forged. I have since vowed never to have an image of my art on the Internet.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">e-Commerce and Colonisation</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Is this reaction to the Internet not the same as the proverbial "ostrich burying its head in the sand"? Yes, but as the world shrinks to the size of an iPhone, smaller than the palm of one's hand, even the sand is not deep enough to protect one from the cyber gaze and fraud.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Western and Eastern computer technology can steal, plunder, re-credit and subsume indigenous intellectual property at the click of a button. What mechanisms do we have at our disposal for the defence and protection of our intellectual property?</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This new ramification calls for our immediate attention. Can Zimbabwean artists tender a protective body to safeguard their works of art on the Internet? Have the local legislation, patent and copyright laws been amend to include the international protection of Zimbabwean cyber-images on the Internet? Who will monitor or marshal these international cyber felons and the colonial looters? What punishment can be meted out to these invisible, virtual, foreign gorgons?</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">These new implications call for national intervention. If we as artists and Zimbabweans can dare to dream and create world-class-word-coveted art, then we must have the self-determination to protect it. We need to protect our artistic innovations from colonial cyber domination and neo-colonisation. We need to be vigilant and guard our Post-Colonial heritage from potential ethnocide. The fourth Chimurenga should be protecting the arts, indigenous intelligence, tangible and intangible heritage, and re-claiming our rightful space in the International Cyber World.</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Icho Chimurenga che dande mutande ne chi vitiviti - computer wars!</span><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">l Dr Tony Monda holds a PhD in Art Theory and Philosophy and a Doctorate in business Administration (DBA) in PostColonial Heritage Studies. He is an author, art critic and practising visual artist.</span></div><br />
</div>arterialnetworkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374657044164144330noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646962192150644991.post-25169187674082980982011-09-27T01:05:00.000-07:002011-09-27T01:05:22.120-07:00Top Ten pirates in Africa<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--> <m:smallfrac m:val="off"> <m:dispdef> <m:lmargin m:val="0"> <m:rmargin m:val="0"> <m:defjc m:val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent m:val="1440"> <m:intlim m:val="subSup"> <m:narylim m:val="undOvr"> </m:narylim></m:intlim> </m:wrapindent><!--[endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has released the figures of their latest findings into piracy across the globe, and some statistics are shocking.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The global piracy rate has dropped to 42%. The global piracy rate dropped by 1 point from 2009 to 42%, meaning that 42% of the all the software in the world is pirated. Half of the 116 economies studied in the 2010 report noted that they had a piracy rating of 62% or higher, costing billions each year.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">While Georgia, close to Russia, has the highest piracy rate in the world with 93%, Zimbabwe is second on the list, with 91% of all the software in the country pirated. The Top Ten African countries with the highest piracy rates are:</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1. Zimbabwe (91%)</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">2. Libya (88%)</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">3. Algeria (83%)</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">4. Zambia (82%)</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">5. Nigeria (82%)</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">6. Cameroon (82%)</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">7. Kenya (79%)</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">8. Ivory Coast (79)</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">9. Botswana (79%)</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">10. Senegal (78%)</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">South Africa has been fortunate enough to have had a low piracy rate of around 35% for the last five years, and is also the country with the lowest piracy rate in Africa. But that doesn’t put South Africa in the clear.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Although SA has a low piracy rate of 35%, the commercial value of the pirated software is enough to push the country into the 25th spot on the list of highest commercial value of pirated software for 2010, valued at $513 million. South Africa is also the only African country on the list.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The nation with the highest value of pirated software is to no surprise the USA with $9.5 billion, followed by China with $7.7 billion, Russia with $2.8 billion, India with $2.7 billion and Brazil with $2.6 billion. It’s rather worrying that China, Russia, India and Brazil make up the BRICS nations with South Africa.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>Source: <a href="http://www.itnewsafrica.com/2011/09/top-ten-highest-piracy-rates-in-africa/">http://www.itnewsafrica.com/2011/09/top-ten-highest-piracy-rates-in-africa/</a></b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
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</div></div>arterialnetworkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374657044164144330noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646962192150644991.post-35954052662636386732011-09-13T03:05:00.001-07:002011-09-13T06:04:29.406-07:00What could Chinese expansion into Africa mean for the African creative economy?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><m:smallfrac m:val="off"> <m:dispdef> <m:lmargin m:val="0"> <m:rmargin m:val="0"> <m:defjc m:val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent m:val="1440"> <m:intlim m:val="subSup"> <m:narylim m:val="undOvr"> </m:narylim></m:intlim> </m:wrapindent> </m:defjc></m:rmargin></m:lmargin></m:dispdef></m:smallfrac><br />
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">What could Chinese expansion into Africa mean for the African creative economy?</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">By Florence Mukanga</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> <br />
</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The views expressed in this article are entirely of the author</span></b></i></span></div></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">China is one of the BRICS countries alongside Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa. These countries are grouped together because while they are not yet economic powerhouses, they have the potential to become the world’s most dominant economies in the next few decades. They also account for almost three billion people, or just under half of the total population of the world. In recent times, the BRICS have also contributed to the majority of world GDP growth. My article will focus on the effects of the Chinese expansion into Africa on African creative economy.</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">China’s arts and culture budget has considerably grown over the years. According to the Daily Telegraph, ‘its cultural budget was 444 million RMB in 1978; 1.074 billion RMB in 1986; 1.728 billion RMB in 1991; 5.078 billion RMB in 1998; and 24.804 billion RMB in 2008. State support is likely to continue to grow above the national GDP growth in the future as China makes headway in developing a knowledge economy as well as an industrial economy: in recent years, the annual growth rate of the creative industries across China is more than 17%, 6-8% above concurrent GDP growth rates.’<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=2646962192150644991#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">Its creative arts and crafts continue to increase in terms of quantity as well as quality, benefitting from the subsidies and creative platforms that the Ministry of Culture is committed to provide to further foster cultural growth.</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">The Chinese have made effort to encourage the acquisition of Chinese languages and culture in Africa through Confucius Institutes. In 2009 there were about 19 Confucius institutes in Africa. Numerous cultural agreements have been signed between the Chinese government and governments of African countries such as Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Egypt and South Africa among many others.</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">In order to strengthen its position in Africa, China established close ties with South Africa. This was done through inviting South Africa to join the BRIC in 2011. This move has triggered a lot of debate among economists with many of them arguing that South Africa does not quite belong to the group because it has a very small economy. According to O’Neill South Africa’s economy is only a quarter of the size of Russia’s, the next-smallest of the group. South Africa also has a relatively small population of about 50 million, an economy worth $286 billion and growth of only about 3 percent in 2010. </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">This move was more about forging strong political connections with the African continent, with South Africa as its most valuable trading partner and an increasingly important political ally. Given that South Africa plays a major role in the African creative economy it is interesting to explore how its relationship with China will ultimately affect the African creative economy.</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">Recently I had an opportunity to listen to a heated debate on the relationship between Chinese artists and Zimbabwean artists. One visual artist raised an issue that really striked my mind. Chinese people come to Zimbabwe and buy our artworks for close to nothing but when they go back to China they make fortunes out of those artworks. The proceeds are not channeled back to the Artists in Zimbabwe who continue to drown in poverty.</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">Another artist noted that the Chinese people come and buy one quality artistic product (such as stone sculptures) from Zimbabwe and go back to China where they produce a lot of pirated copies of that product and make a lot of money selling those artworks.</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">Whether or not these allegations are true is food for our thoughts. Of course the Chinese have reputation of making fake products and copying! The Independent (Europe) of 18 June 2011carried an article entitled: ‘Chinese copy of Austrian village stirs emotions.’<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=2646962192150644991#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span></span></a></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">The article captures a story of Chinese architects who are planning to rebuild the Upper Austrian town of Hallstatt in one of their provinces.</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">As I read and write about all these moves by the Chinese the major questions that I ask myself are:</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">Is this a new form of colonialism? If it is new colonialism will it not awaken a new scramble for Africa and with what results? How many African countries can afford to implement the terms of cultural agreements between themselves and the Chinese? What will be the impact of these cultural ties with Africa on the individual cultures of African countries? </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br clear="all" /> </span></div><hr size="1" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" width="33%" /><div id="ftn1" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="MsoFootnoteText"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=2646962192150644991#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span></a> </span><span style="font-size: small;">The creative industries and cultural arts in China, Daily Telegragh of 1 October 2009: </span><span style="font-size: small;">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/6255561/The-creative-industries-and-cultural-arts-in-China.html<b> </b>(This article formed part of a sponsored supplement: the Chinese Embassy in the UK in association with The Daily Telegraph).</span></div><div class="MsoFootnoteText"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div></div><div id="ftn2" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="MsoFootnoteText"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=2646962192150644991#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span></span></a> http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/chinese-copy-of-austrian-village-stirs-emotions-2299516.html</span></div></div></div>arterialnetworkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374657044164144330noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646962192150644991.post-49009873576971434852011-08-31T05:21:00.000-07:002011-08-31T05:21:57.855-07:00Cultural Tourism: Does it Help or Exploit Local Communities?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--> <m:smallfrac m:val="off"> <m:dispdef> <m:lmargin m:val="0"> <m:rmargin m:val="0"> <m:defjc m:val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent m:val="1440"> <m:intlim m:val="subSup"> <m:narylim m:val="undOvr"> </m:narylim></m:intlim> </m:wrapindent><!--[endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Cultural Tourism: Does it Help or Exploit Local Communities?</span></b></div><div> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">By JoAnna Haugen</span></b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">On our towns and traditions tour, I couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy about the fact that catering to tourists required additional buildings to be built and modern plumbing to be installed even though the locals themselves did not appear to take advantage of either. Their homesteads felt like living history museums more than homes, with their spotless kitchens, bench seating and tables of goods spread out for purchase. Though we were experiencing traditional cooking, crafts and gardening, I felt like we were doing so in the context of tourism, not culture.</span></div><div> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">And yet, as we bounced along the road, passing small houses made of adobe where children and chickens ran freely, I began weighing the merits of cultural tourism in the context of sustainability. Satisfying tourists’ interests in order to provide economic stability is not the answer to responsible cultural tourism. Every van that drives down the dirt road and traveler who visits the homesteads leaves behind waste, traces of their own cultures and a carbon footprint. This kind of travel requires delicate planning so that sustainability and authenticity are maintained and local traditions, cultures and ways of life are protected.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">But if cultural tourism helps a particular tribe or indigenous group maintain its traditions, isn’t that a form of sustainability? Without cultural tourism in the hills outside of Huatulco, would the local communities have been able to afford to build a dispensary and playground? Would they have running water and electricity?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">If the vans of cruise passengers weren’t passed from homestead to homestead by van, would the farmers who grew cacti and coffee be able to afford to grow their crops without a captive audience interested in buying? If the women weaving hats and fans weren’t able to sell their products to out-of-town patrons several times a week, would they continue to make fiber dyes and weave, and would they find any reason to teach their children how to do the same?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Pushing that idea even further, if the people living in yurts in Mongolia, mud huts in the Kenyan desert and adobe homes in Oaxaca weren’t able to make a living off their land, would they give it all up and move to the closest big city, where they would be more likely to find mainstream jobs? A changing indigenous culture starts with one generation and slowly seeps through time until tribal languages are lost and traditional recipes are commercialized and turned into quick-eat microwave meals.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">So were the stops of the towns and traditions tour really people’s homes? Yes, but with modifications to please the wayward traveler. Did we learn about authentic traditions? Yes, but with mass market appeal. With that in mind, is there a way to balance authentic cultural practices with outsiders’ interests in exploring them in a manner that is mutually—and equally—beneficial? That’s the question I don’t know how to answer.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">************************************************</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</style> <![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Cultural Tourism is the subset of tourism concerned with culture, especially its arts, heritage and cultural events. It generally focuses on traditional communities who have diverse customs, unique form of art and distinct social practices, which basically distinguishes it from other types/forms of culture. </span></m:defjc></m:rmargin></m:lmargin></m:dispdef></m:smallfrac></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Culture and creative industries are increasingly being used to promote destinations and enhance their competitiveness and attractiveness. Many locations are now actively developing their tangible and intangible cultural assets as a means of developing comparative advantages in an increasingly competitive tourism marketplace, and to create local distinctiveness in the face of globalisation.</span></div></div>arterialnetworkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374657044164144330noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646962192150644991.post-3367278089417029802011-08-24T06:45:00.000-07:002011-08-24T06:45:11.457-07:00The creative economy: which way for Africa's future By: Titus Kaloki<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: center;"><b>The creative economy: which way for Africa's future<br />
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By: Titus Kaloki</b></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Many have always wondered what is creativity and how can it be measured. How can one tell creativity from the norm and how can one tell what has been creatively done or not. A respected panel of experts who worked on the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report, provided their definition of the term.<br />
From their definition, creativity refers to the formulation of new ideas and to the application of these ideas to produce original works of art and cultural products, functional creations, scientific inventions and technological innovations. Also one has to keep in mind that originality involves even reworking old ideas into new ways of implementing them. The term “creative economy” appeared in 2001 in John Howkins' book about the relationship between creativity and economics. However, the term ‘creative economy' is a subjective concept that is still being shaped.<br />
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With this in mind we could discuss the various types of creativity. We have artistic creativity which involves imagination and a capacity to generate original ideas and novel ways of interpreting the world, expressed in text, sound and image. Scientific creativity involves curiosity and a willingness to experiment and make new connections in problem solving. Economic creativity is a dynamic process leading towards innovation in technology, business practices, marketing, etc., and is closely linked to gaining a competitive advantage in the economy.<br />
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The creative economy is an evolving concept based on creative assets potentially generating economic growth and development. It can foster income generation, job creation and export earnings while promoting social inclusion, cultural diversity and human development, it embraces economic, cultural and social aspects interacting with technology, intellectual property and tourism objectives, it is a set of knowledge-based economic activities with a development dimension and cross-cutting linkages at macro and micro levels to the overall economy, it is a feasible development option calling for innovative multidisciplinary policy responses and inter-ministerial action at the heart of the creative economy are the creative industries.<br />
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The creative industries that comprise the creative economy include: advertising, architecture, art and antiques market, crafts, design, fashion, film and video, music, performing arts, publishing, software, television and radio, and video and computer games. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the creative class represented almost one third of the workforce in the United States of America and the creative sector accounted for nearly half of all wage and salary income in the country, about US$1.7 trillion, as much as the manufacturing and service sectors combined.<br />
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To achieve this kind of success the main drivers of the creative economy; technology, demand and tourism have to be fostered. The convergence of telecommunications and multimedia has enabled creative content to be easily created and distributed to the widest numbers possible. Most people are open to enjoy other cultural products driving demand and cultural interaction through tourism. In 2004 alone Europe had 417 million tourists while Africa had only 33 million. This disparity is largely because of the creative cities and products found in Europe teeming with museums, art and fashion centres and many more creative goods and services.<br />
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What should be done for Africa to achieve the same? Let's borrow a leaf from those economies that have been able to achieve the fathomed success. China saw the establishment of creative districts e.g. the Kowloon creative district measuring over 40 acres and dedicated to inventiveness and production. It has attracted the best of creative minds and companies.<br />
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The creative sector due to its cultural connection gets more commitment and skill from its workers as they feel especially attached and achieve the greatest satisfaction. It has enabled the promotion of gender equality as women can be involved in making of crafts and other products empowering them economically. Therefore, the combination of government and civil society efforts greatly foster this sector. To compete globally, our technology should be up to par with the best; not a tall order considering how ‘wealthy' most African countries are. Tolerance for individuality and openness of minds are important for creative innovations and services to achieve economic gains. Without a receptive population selling creativity is difficult. This means education to involve creativity in content and evaluation.<br />
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It isn't a gloomy picture for Africa which in 2004 contributed only 1% to the global creative economy, as evidenced by a few initiatives e.g. Lake Victoria and Nyanza Creative Arts Association (LAVINCA.) Created in 1999, the objective of LAVINCA is to promote and create awareness of Kenyan arts and culture. Its program includes projects that aim to bring poor artists together and offer an opportunity to share ideas and experiences. The association was also created to tackle social issues that affect the youth of Kenya such as dropping out of school and poverty, and it intends to put in place mechanisms that will improve their quality of life. The NGO itself specialises in batik work, visual arts, sculpture (carving) and ornaments.<br />
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Therefore, an inter-ministerial approach by African governments is needed to foster this economic vista that is eco-friendly, sustainable, socially and culturally uplifting creating unlimited wealth and job creation. It is important for the small players and individuals to look at creating new ideas, goods and services and to slowly abandon the false security offered by traditional destructive economies that plunder natural resources such as mining, lumbering, etc.<br />
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With the right political and social will we are destined for a brighter future.</div></div>arterialnetworkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374657044164144330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646962192150644991.post-11164396227131595702011-08-18T05:47:00.000-07:002011-08-18T05:47:12.367-07:00Failing To Call The Tune<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px; padding-bottom: 25px;"></span><br />
Artists and creative people in Africa continue to miss out on the wider opportunities provided by the emergent global economic sector, the “creative economy”.<br />
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A report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) shows that despite registering some of the highest percentage growths in such fields as arts and crafts, music and design, the continent earns the least from its creative people.<br />
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“Despite the richness of their cultural diversity and the abundance of creative talent, the great majority of developing countries are not yet fully benefiting from the enormous potential of their creative economies to improve development gains,” the report says.<br />
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The comprehensive report, titled Creative Economy 2008, puts into facts and figures, the contributions made to global economic growth by artists, musicians, architects, designers, creators of software among others.<br />
The term “creative economy” has been steadily gaining wide usage within government and artistic circles. On the one hand it’s seen as a useful bridge linking the arts with the wider, mainstream sectors of the economy.<br />
But on the other hand, critics say it provides nothing new and is merely a repackaging of creativity that has always been present.<br />
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The report defines “Creative industries” “as the cycles of creation, production and distribution of goods and services that use creativity and intellectual capital as primary inputs.<br />
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They comprise a set of knowledge-based activities that produce tangible goods and intangible intellectual or artistic services with creative content, economic value and market objectives.”<br />
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UNCTAD points out that the growth in information technology has for the first time pushed creativity to the fore as a possible leading growth area in the future. The organisation adds that the imperative is for governments to strengthen intellectual property protection laws to enable creative people benefit from their output.<br />
The report shows that the sector grew by 8.7 per cent from 2000 to 2005 – the period which the report is based on.<br />
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Over all, trade in creative goods contributed US$424.4 billion in 2005, representing 3.4 per cent of total world trade. 2005 is the latest year UNCTAD uses in this report, released at the close of 2008.<br />
However, the bulk of this money was made by the OECD countries, followed by emergent economies in Southeast Asia.<br />
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In the same year, the entire African continent made US$ 1.7 billion only, up from a paltry US$0.9 billion in 2000.<br />
In comparison, in the year 2000, Japan alone is estimated to have exported “creative goods” worth US$ 4.8 billion.<br />
However, the figures by themselves do not tell the whole story, for the African continent is the third fasted growing producer of creative products behind Asia:<br />
While in 2005 – the latest date at which UNCTAD collated the figures – Japan exported creative products worth US$ 5.5 billion, and Africa, only US$ 1.7 billion, the Japanese increase was a 15 per cent growth compared to Africa’s, 82 per cent.<br />
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A number of factors play here: while the humble African figures are a reflection of poor data collection, meaning there might in actual fact be more production of creative products than is recorded. Crucially, the bulk of products in the “creative economy” depend on possession of hi-tech production, an area Africa lags behind in.<br />
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Lack of supportive public policies, poor integration into global economy and lack of investments in the sectors are some of the other factors keeping African “creative workers” from earning as much as their compatriots elsewhere.<br />
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“For the moment, African creative products are very under-represented in world markets despite the abundance of creative talent on the continent,” says the report.<br />
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It also highlights lack of copy right protection as a virulent enemy of creative industries which “destroys the ability of African artists to have a viable career as an artist or, in fact, the creative industry to become viable.<br />
There is some evidence to suggest that in the music industry at least, pirate operators have a competitive advantage since their costs are lower and they have minimal capital investment requirements.”<br />
It goes on to say that Africa as well as the rest of the developing world “[has] been facing domestic and international obstacles that need to be fully understood and overcome through cross-cutting institutional mechanisms and multidisciplinary policies.<br />
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In this scenario, development strategies must be updated to cope with the far-reaching cultural, economic and technological shifts that are reshaping society.” However, the situation in Africa is not even. Countries within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have a much better infrastructure and benefit the most from the creative sectors, with bigger and better run museums and galleries supporting the crafts and visual arts.<br />
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South Africa is the biggest exporter of creative products on the continent, followed by Namibia, Tunisia, Morocco and Kenya. Public policy in the SADC region is also more supportive than elsewhere on the continent. The report makes note of the emergence of musical traditions like Congolese rumba, Zaïroise Moderne, Afropop, gospel; new sounds like from “urbanized youth,” like the South African Kwaito and Tanzanian Bongo Flava.<br />
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The main centres for music production the report points out are in East Africa - Kenya and Tanzania; West Africa - Ivory Coast , Mali , Nigeria and Senegal and; Southern Africa - South Africa and Zimbabwe,<br />
It points out as noteworthy, the support political leadership has provided in countries like Congo and Tanzania.<br />
“The realization of value from the creative content of Africa is often in the hands of foreign distributors such that income leaves the countries where the content is created and produced,” the report says, adding that “in Africa, however, because the artists expect to receive little or no royalty from record sales partly owing to piracy and partly to the inadequate collection of copyrights, they negotiate a bigger share of an up-front payment that essentially signs away their rights to the music.”<br />
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The report highlights the emerging infrastructure helping to raise the profile of artists:<br />
“The Biennale of Contemporary African Art of Dakar undoubtedly makes a critical contribution to ensuring the promotion of artists and the diffusion of contemporary creative works within and beyond the continent.”<br />
Also known as Dak’Art, the Senegalese Biennale has become a large expo for African art, drawing in as many as 289 artists from 34 countries including a contingent from the African Diaspora and artists from the rest of the world.<br />
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Despite the hurdles it outlines, the report notes that artists on the continent are increasingly coming up with creative solutions, pointing at the runaway success of the Nigerian film industry, "Nollywood", as a good example:<br />
“The emergence and rise of the Nigerian video-based film industry, the so-called “Nollywood”, is a creative response to satisfy the cultural needs of modern African society Nonetheless, developing countries are lagging behind in the film industry, since on average, they produce 1.2 films per million inhabitants compared with 6.3 films in developed countries.”<br />
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Africa has put together measures to try and harness the creative sectors. The Nairobi Plan of Action 2005 attempts to create legal and institutional infrastructure to support the cultural industries. The report advises the continent to “integrate into the global economy by nurturing…creative capacities and enhancing the competitiveness of [its their creative goods and services in world markets, provided that appropriate public policies are in place at the national level and market imbalances can be redressed at the international level.<br />
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In this respect, support for domestic creative industries should be seen as an integral part of the promotion and protection of cultural diversity.”<br />
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Artericle First published on the African Colours Website: http://www.africancolours.com/african-art-editorials/425/international/failing_to_call_the_tune.htm </div>arterialnetworkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374657044164144330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646962192150644991.post-74827263471366442672011-08-15T08:08:00.001-07:002011-08-15T08:10:50.890-07:00Understanding Gender Relations, Culture and Development in Africa<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><m:smallfrac m:val="off"> <m:dispdef> <m:lmargin m:val="0"> <m:rmargin m:val="0"> <m:defjc m:val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent m:val="1440"> <m:intlim m:val="subSup"> <m:narylim m:val="undOvr"> </m:narylim></m:intlim> </m:wrapindent> </m:defjc></m:rmargin></m:lmargin></m:dispdef></m:smallfrac><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Understanding Gender Relations, Culture and Development in Africa</span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Florence Mukanga</span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The views expressed in this article are entirely of the author.</span></b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Gender imbalances have existed in most African cultures for a long time now. In most African countries women constitute a greater number compared to men but they remain underrepresented in many areas of socio, economic and political activities. This is mainly due to long-standing traditional beliefs concerning gender roles, which are mostly based on the premise that women are less important, or less deserving of power, than men. </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">These long standing cultural values have often led to domestic violence and abuse of women. According to a report produced by Musasa Project (Zimbabwe) in 2006 domestic violence accounted for 60 percent of all murder cases heard in Zimbabwean courts in 2006. </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">In a 2005 study on women’s health and domestic violence, the WHO found that 50 per cent of women in Tanzania and 71 per cent of women in Ethiopia’s rural areas reported beatings or other forms of violence by husbands or other intimate partners.</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">In Mali, Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa (to mention but a few)</span> <span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">women do the bulk of the farm work, provide for the livelihood of their families, but are barred from owning the land they work. This again is a practice that is deeply rooted in culture which considers the man the head of household and therefore the rightful authority over land. I am aware of the fact that there are African countries like Mozambique where there are pieces of legislation enacted to facilitate the acquisition of land by women but most of these pieces of legislation are just ceremonial- they are not effectively implemented.</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The issue of gender relations does not affect men and women only. In most African countries homosexuality is illegal. Homosexuals are seen as a minority group and regularly experience discrimination and stigmatisation. Due to that stigmatisation many struggle with defining their own gender identity and the subsequent disclosure thereof. I believe this is because in pre-colonial African traditional culture there was no homosexuality. In states like Buganga homosexuality begun with the coming of Arab traders hence most African nations still uphold the view that homosexuality is not culturally acceptable.</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Whilst the situation is like this there is a lot of preaching around integrating culture into development programmes but how do we effectively integrate culture and some of its aspects like the ones mentioned above into development programmes that equally benefit all citizens of a country?</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Culture is that which makes us who we are. It shapes the way we think, walk, talk and relate to each other. It affects our decision making process. </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">United Nations organs are some of the organisations that have come to an understanding of the pivotal role that culture plays in development. I am especially interested in an approach to integrate culture in development that is being used by UNFPA. It is called ‘culture lens’ and its purpose is to advance the goals of programming effectively and efficiently with strong community acceptance and ownership. It is an analytical and programming tool that helps policy makers and development practitioners to analyse, understand and utilise positive cultural values, assets and structures in their planning and programming processes, so as to reduce resistance to the ICPD Programme of Action, strengthen programming effectiveness and create conditions for ownership and sustainability of UNFPA programmes, especially in the areas of women's empowerment and promotion of reproductive health and rights.</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">This programme is very interesting but what I do not understand in this approach is the aspect of <i>positive cultural values.</i> Who decides on what is positive or negative about an aspect of culture? Which instrument is used to measure the positivity or negativity of cultural values? What if that which one views as positive is considered negative by the community practicing that culture? </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">In this age of globalisation are we not running a risk of having powerful cultures dominating and deciding on positive and negative aspects of culture? This observation is affirmed by James D. Wolfensohn, World Bank President, who says that, "In this time of globalisation, with all its advantages, the poor are the most vulnerable to having their traditions, relationships and knowledge and skills ignored and denigrated, and experiencing development with a great sense of trauma, loss and social disconnectedness."</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">As long as people talk of positive and negative aspects of certain cultures without clearly defining the criteria which they use to classify those aspects then the discriminatory tendency will continue to exist and that means a risk for developmental programmes.</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div></div>arterialnetworkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374657044164144330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646962192150644991.post-10622154384980054142011-07-07T07:46:00.000-07:002011-07-07T07:46:23.387-07:00<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--> <m:smallfrac m:val="off"> <m:dispdef> <m:lmargin m:val="0"> <m:rmargin m:val="0"> <m:defjc m:val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent m:val="1440"> <m:intlim m:val="subSup"> <m:narylim m:val="undOvr"> </m:narylim></m:intlim> </m:wrapindent><!--[endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif";">Time for African governments to take culture seriously</span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif";">Florence Mukanga</span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif";">The views expressed in this article are entirely of the writer.</span></b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Recently the relationship that exists between culture and development has generated a lot of interest across the whole world. There has been a lot of lobbying towards recognising the special role and the importance of culture and to give culture a more prominent place in development. In Africa we have embraced these developments with enthusiasm. </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Some African countries have developed well defined cultural policies that govern arts and culture though it pains to note that many African countries still do not have well defined national cultural policies which articulate common vision. I know that these countries do have legislation that governs some aspects of arts and culture such as copyright laws and provisions from various common policies that have an impact on culture, including both policies that refer specifically to culture and those that have a more indirect impact on culture. Due to this lack of coherent cultural policies culture has found itself in a compromised position. I personally think that well defined holistic cultural policies are important especially because they help to tackle cross cutting iissues such as mobility of artists and cultural professionals, regulation of markets for cultural goods and services and fighting piracy.</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Last year the African Union launched a Campaign for African Cultural Renaissance with the aim to promote Pan Africanism, cultural renewal and identity as forming part of the shared values in the Continent. In the same year African Union also organised a conference on financing of arts and culture. </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">All these developments point to the observation that culture should be put on the forefront of all development. However I would like to see culture occupying a prominent position in the African agenda in terms of resource allocation. Indeed conferences are important but at this stage African Union has to encourage member states to commit resources towards cultural development. To continue operating, African artists and their organisations always turn to foreign partners. George Ngwane, in his open letter to the AU Commission President notes that these partners undeniably have their own prisms of the definition and implementation of art and culture agendas in Africa which leads to a clash in civilisations and conflict of perceptions. He adds that national governments need to provide a cultural stimulus package to art organisations in order to flower the abundance of cultural heritage still lying fallow and latent in our creative backyard. I would like to emphasise the same thing by saying that as long African governments continue to turn a blind eye to arts and culture in terms of their priorities when it comes to budgeting then the chances of succeeding in this campaign will remain very slim. </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">In some cases it is not even about budgets only. It is about showing commitment to the development of arts and culture. Regional Economic Communities such as the Southern African Development Community for example, do not have desks dedicated to Arts and Culture. In a recent telephone conversation with the SADC secretariat in Botswana I was informed that the cultural desk was removed because ‘it is no longer a priority area for SADC.’ I could not believe my ears!!!! Culture….the fourth pillar of sustainable development…the fabric of society…our identity…our past, present and future…being neglected just like that. I then visited the website of SADC and then I was shocked by the vision of the body which is <i>of a common future, a future within a regional community that will ensure economic well-being, improvement of the standards of living and quality of life, freedom and social justice and peace and security for the people of Southern Africa. This shared vision is anchored on the common values and principles and the historical and cultural affinities that exist between the people of Southern Africa.</i> To me this is all about arts and culture so there is no way through which culture has become irrelevant to SADC. </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Let us just stop being hypocrites who talk left and walk right. Our governments should start prioritising culture by allocating enough resources towards the sector.</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div>arterialnetworkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374657044164144330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646962192150644991.post-38419707132953935322011-05-04T02:48:00.001-07:002011-05-04T02:48:55.057-07:00How can the arts contribute to freedom of expression?<span style="font-size: 12px;">by Mike van Graan<br />
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The programme for the PEN World Voices Festival taking place in New York at this time states that a key mission of the Festival “is to encourage people to speak out against censorship and condemn the suppression of freedom of expression everywhere”. The three signatories to this introduction – Laszlo Jakab Orsos, the Director of the Festival; Salman Rushdie, the chairperson of the festival steering committee and K. Anthony Appiah, the President of the PEN American Centre that hosts the Festival - further state “we firmly believe in literature as a key <span class="il">weapon</span> in fighting this battle.”<br />
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South Africa celebrates 17 years of democracy this week, 17 years of the abolition of censorship boards, 17 years of freedom of expression guaranteed in the country’s Constitution which states: “everyone has the right to freedom of expression which includes a. freedom of the press and other media b. freedom to receive and impact information or ideas c. freedom of artistic creativity and d. academic freedom and freedom of scientific research.”<br />
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As part of the PEN Festival, an excerpt of my play Green Man Flashing was staged as a reading at the Martin E. Segal Theatre and was followed by a discussion.<br />
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The play is set six weeks before South Africa’s second elections in 1999. Gabby Anderson, a one-time political activist now working in government, alleges she has been raped by her boss, a high-profile government minister with an impeccable anti-apartheid struggle record and who plays a key role in quelling violence between the African National Congress (ANC) and the Inkatha Freedom Party in his native KwaZulu Natal. If the allegations go public, it could hurt the ruling party in the elections, lead to a high number of deaths in election-related violence and compromise international investment. The ANC sends a two-person delegation to Anderson to convince her not to go through with the charges.<br />
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Rather than the stark us-them, black-white, goodies and baddies binary oppositions of much of the theatre staged in the apartheid era, Green Man Flashing seeks to explore some of the moral contradictions, the racial ironies and the political complexities of a society in transition. It juxtaposes individual human rights against the greater good (albeit as defined by those in power) and the pandemic of gender violence against political violence, challenging the audience to think about their moral positions in a society struggling with political and moral ambivalences.<br />
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When the play was first produced in 2004 with subsequent seasons in 2005 (some time before Jacob Zuma - now South Africa's president - was charged with rape), I placed books in the foyers of the theatres so that audience members could articulate their responses to the play. The most recurring – and for me, disturbing – comment was that this was a “brave play”, “a courageous work”, the implication being that dealing with such themes in post-apartheid South Africa was somehow considered to be daring, edgy and even dangerous.<br />
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Why would this be the case, I wondered, when we were ten years into our democracy; when, in the apartheid era, some of us were arrested for staging a piece of street theatre that constituted “an illegal gathering”, others had their works banned and still others had been detained without trial for challenging the apartheid state through their artistic creativity. Why should writers be considered “brave” in exercising freedom of creative expression under a democratically elected government that had sworn to uphold a Constitution guaranteeing human rights?<br />
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At that time of course, Thabo Mbeki was president of the country and it was a period when the ruling party was very sensitive to any kind of criticism, where those who dared to criticise – no matter how legitimate the criticism - were dismissed as racists (or ultra-leftists if they were not white), as people who simply could not accept a black government. It was a time when self-censorship was rife.<br />
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Often, international focus is on those countries where conditions are so repressive that we marvel at and celebrate those artists and writers who challenge the status quo at great financial, personal and even physical costs to themselves. This is as it should be. But sometimes, even within democratic countries, there is a need for writers, artists and musicians to speak truth to power, to challenge new political dogmas, to provide a voice for those on the underside of history. <br />
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Democracies are generally works-in-progress and there will always be attempts to restrict freedom of expression whether through overt political censorship, withdrawal of economic resources, intimidation or other means by political authorities or those who occupy positions of leadership in some institution, community or cause. <br />
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While the general view is that the arts require conditions for freedom of expression, literature, theatre, music, film, visual arts, etc are also means for creating and expanding such conditions where they do not exist or are under threat. The best way to ensure artistic freedom may simply be to practice it. <br />
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NOTES <br />
1. The views expressed in this column are entirely those of the writer and are not necessarily representative of any of the organisations in which he is involved. <br />
2. This column may be forwarded by the recipient to any other interested party, and may be reproduced by any publication or website at no charge, provided that writer is acknowledged.<br />
3. To engage with the content of this column or to provide feedback, go to <a href="http://www.mikevangraan.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">www.mikevangraan.wordpress.com</a><br />
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<br />
Mike van Graan is the Secretary General of Arterial Network, a continent-wide network of artists, activists and creative enterprises active in the African creative sector and its contribution to development, human rights and democracy on the continent. He is also the Executive Director of the African Arts Institute (AFAI), a South African NGO based in Cape Town that harnesses local expertise, resources and markets in the service of Africa’s creative sector. He is considered to be one of his country’s leading contemporary playwrights.<br />
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For further information, see <a href="http://www.arterialnetwork.org/" target="_blank">www.arterialnetwork.org</a>, <a href="http://www.africanartsinstitute.org.za/" target="_blank">www.africanartsinstitute.org.<wbr></wbr>za</a> and <a href="http://www.mikevangraan.co.za/" target="_blank">www.mikevangraan.co.za</a><br />
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</span>arterialnetworkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374657044164144330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646962192150644991.post-59630389169443680532011-04-20T23:26:00.001-07:002011-04-20T23:26:50.103-07:00Is democracy all it’s cracked up to be?<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">The Kigali Memorial Centre was opened in 2004, built on a site that also houses the graves of some 250 000 people slaughtered in the Rwandan genocide that took place a decade earlier. As I took in the permanent exhibition that can only hint at the story of how 800 000 people were killed in a hundred day period, I was at a complete loss in trying to understand how neighbours could turn on each other so quickly, so violently. I wondered about the much vaunted African principle of Ubuntu, our human interconnectedness: is this simply a mythical ideal that we sprout with hollow pride and nostalgia but in essence, we’re as selfish, atomised and disconnected as those in western societies?<br />
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The world ignored Rwanda from April to June 1994 when the genocide took place, focusing much more on the miracle nation down south which was hosting its first non-racial democratic elections in April too. By June 1994, Nelson Mandela had been inaugurated as President and his euphoric speech was still ringing around the globe:<br />
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The time for healing of the wounds has come. The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come. The time to build is upon us….We must therefore act together as a united people for national reconciliation, for nation-building, for the birth of a new world.<br />
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While ethnic groups were literally hacking each other to death in Rwanda, at the very same time, the reconciliation project unifying people across racial and ethnic divides had just begun in post-apartheid South Africa.<br />
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South Africa is about to celebrate its 17th Freedom Day marking the first elections on 27 April 1994, having been through a further three national elections in that time, and about to undergo its fourth local government elections in May. A Constitution has been adopted that guarantees freedom of association, freedom of expression and freedom of the media. Yet, at this very moment, there is a court case about whether the “struggle song”, Shoot the Boer, constitutes hate speech against Afrikaners. It has been given prominence by the leader of the ANC Youth League who was 8-years-old at the time of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison and so hardly a veteran of the struggle against apartheid! In this week too, six policemen have been charged with the murder of an unarmed man protesting against the lack of service delivery, his beating, shooting and subsequent death being broadcast around the world at a time when similar images are emanating from the non-democracies of Yemen and Syria. And while protests against the lack of service delivery take place around the country, a South African cabinet minister is exposed to have spent large amounts of public funds on a trip to his drug mule girlfriend in a Swiss prison and on stays in top Cape Town hotels, and is now also building a mansion for himself in an impoverished town in the Eastern Cape. <br />
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These three issues demonstrate just how little the national reconciliation project has progressed in South Africa, how far the country still has to go in transferring constitutional rights into reality and how high up greed and corruption go. But at least we’re having an election soon…!<br />
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In a December 2010 article by Andrew Mwenda of The Independent in Uganda, he states “The ANC in South Africa inherited a strong bureaucratic state with a well-developed and modern industrial economy, properly developed infrastructure, the best human resource pool on the continent and great international goodwill. The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) inherited a backward economy that had collapsed, and a nation without a functional state. The pre-existing institutions of state had been dismembered, as over 90% of its human resources were dead, in jail or in exile. There was little international goodwill.”<br />
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Rwanda has hosted two Presidential elections since the genocide, with Paul Ngwane of the RPF winning his first seven-year term with 95% of the vote in 2003 and his second (and constitutionally final) term in 2010 with 98% of the vote. Ngwane and the RPF have been heavily criticised by local and international human rights organisations for their clampdown on the opposition, on the media and their absence of traditional democratic credentials. <br />
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According to Mwenda though, the lives of ordinary people in Rwanda have improved with 97% primary school enrolment, 75% having access to clean water and maternal mortality declining, all pointing to the effective pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals. The incidence of HIV in Rwanda has declined from 11% in 2000 to under 3% in 2010, with average life expectancy growing from 25 in 2000 to 52, ten years later. By contrast, South Africa’s average life expectancy declined from 62 before the ANC took power to around 50 last year, with a Harvard University study concluding that at least 330 000 people (nearly half of the number killed during the Rwandan genocide) died avoidable deaths during Thabo Mbeki’s reign. The study estimated that there was an average of 900 AIDS-related deaths per day in 2005, one year after the ANC was re-elected into power with more than 69% of the vote!<br />
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The point is that there is no relationship necessarily between democracy and the delivery of services to the poor, or the improvement in the lives of the majority. As Mwenda’s article also points out, India – the world’s largest democracy – has freedom indicators comparable to those of Norway and yet, in terms of public services such as access to education, health, clean water, health, etc, India is similar to failing states such as Bangladesh and Pakistan. China on the other hand, not exactly the world’s leading democracy, is the one country which according to the World Bank has made substantial gains in reducing poverty, lifting 600 million people beyond the threshold of those living on less than $1,25 per day over a 30 year period.<br />
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While best practice democracies can indeed be effective mechanisms for delivery of services and for the improvement of the lives of the majority, having the forms of democracy – free and fair elections, constitutionally protected freedoms and human rights, etc – can also be means of co-option and of quelling resistance. Where democracy essentially serves elites – as in South Africa – the masses are “voting fodder” to ensure the maintenance of the political vehicle that creates the conditions for the elite to prosper. The constant battles (literally) to be nominated for electoral positions within the ruling party in South Africa points less to a desire to serve the South African people than to the economic and lifestyle opportunities afforded to politicians given front row seats at the trough of public funds.<br />
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The pursuit of a democracy and of a democratic culture – as in North African and Middle Eastern states at the moment – is admirable and is to be encouraged, but the lessons from further south are that democracy is not a guarantee of substantial and progressive social transformation. It has to be accompanied by the nurturing of a culture that values the greater good rather than individual greed, that does not glorify crass materialism as signs of success, and that places people rather than profit or ideology or narrow political interests at the centre of the transformation programme.<br />
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New societies require new cultures. <br />
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NOTES <br />
1. The views expressed in this column are entirely those of the writer and are not necessarily representative of any of the organisations in which he is involved. <br />
2. This column may be forwarded by the recipient to any other interested party, and may be reproduced by any publication or website at no charge, provided that writer is acknowledged.<br />
3. To engage with the content of this column or to provide feedback, go to <a href="http://www.mikevangraan.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">www.mikevangraan.wordpress.com</a><br />
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Mike van Graan is the Secretary General of Arterial Network, a continent-wide network of artists, activists and creative enterprises active in the African creative sector and its contribution to development, human rights and democracy on the continent. He is also the Executive Director of the African Arts Institute (AFAI), a South African NGO based in Cape Town that harnesses local expertise, resources and markets in the service of Africa’s creative sector. He is considered to be one of his country’s leading contemporary playwrights.<br />
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For further information, see <a href="http://www.arterialnetwork.org/" target="_blank">www.arterialnetwork.org</a>, <a href="http://www.africanartsinstitute.org.za/" target="_blank">www.africanartsinstitute.org.<wbr></wbr>za</a> and <a href="http://www.mikevangraan.co.za/" target="_blank">www.mikevangraan.co.za</a><br />
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</span></div>arterialnetworkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374657044164144330noreply@blogger.com0