Zimbabwe to host African Union creative industries worskhop
By Justin Mahlahla
Zimbabwe will host the inaugural validation workshop on the African Union Plan of Action on Cultural and Creative Industries from the 31st of March to the 1st of April this year.
Zimbabwe was chosen to host the virtual workshop in recognition of its commitment to the industrialisation of the arts sector, and initiating the revision process for the Cultural and Creative Industries plan of action.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth, Sport, arts and Recreation, Dr Thokozile Chitepo, says Zimbabwe has been involved in the crafting process for the past six years.
“Towards the end of this month we will be hosting the meeting of the forum of AU ministers responsible for arts and culture, whose specific purpose is to validate an AU creative and culture industry strategy. This is a process that began about three years ago and Zimbabwe took the lead in promoting the establishment of the preparation of the strategy and we are very pleased that over the years we have participated,” she said.
Dr Chitepo said Zimbabwe will be spearheading the process of validating the action plan because “we already have a strategy, we are able to contribute to this very, very important Africa-wide strategy and in recognition of the wealth that we have as a country, in terms of our cultural resources and our cultural assets. Believe it or not, Zimbabwe has a very rich collection of the expression of the arts.”
The workshop will highlight the importance of the arts sector not only in Zimbabwe, but across the continent, and for Zimbabwe, investing in the sector is crucial.
Said Dr Chitepo, “So we are very proud and very happy as we are hosting this. Again, it’s an opportunity to remind us to keep investing in the arts and making sure that we can promote the industry of the cultural sector.”
The African Union Plan of Action on Cultural and Creative Industries is in line with this year’s African Union theme: “Arts, Culture and Heritage: Levers for Building the Africa We Want”.
Zimbabwe launched Culture and Creative Industries Strategy on 26 October 2020, to demonstrate government’s serious intentions to influence investment and growth needed in the cultural and creative arts sector which has been experiencing various challenges, among them the Covid-19 pandemic.
