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Contributions by ZITA to the national cultural policy
Zimbabwe Theatre Association (ZiTA)
November 26, 2011

The Ministry of Education Sport, Arts and Culture have since last year undertaken a national cultural policy review process. This process has included the holding of five consultative meetings with artists, educationist and cultural practitioners from all the ten provinces. Recently, at the National Arts and Dialogue held at the Murewa Culture Centre, the Principal Director for Sport, Arts and Culture in the Ministry, Reverend Paul Damasane indicated that two cultural researchers had been appointed to produce a draft cultural policy document from the many submissions made at these consultative meetings and other arts indabas organized by the National Arts Council. The Principal Director also invited individuals, groups, associations, institutions and communities to submit what they believe should be considered in the cultural policy review exercise.

The Zimbabwe Theatre Association has responded to the Principal Director's call to submit it views on what could be taken on board in the cultural policy review by submitting to him and the consultants its document "Towards a national performing arts policy" which the association has produced based on concerns and aspirations expressed by its members at its cluster workshops (4) held nationally in 2010. Although ZITA is dominantly concerned with theatre and the theatre sector, ZITA has also considered issues concerning the performing arts field in general and with performing arts education in particular.

By making the arts and culture sector aware of the action it has taken with regards to contributions towards the formulation of a comprehensive national cultural policy, ZITA hopes that other national arts and culture organizations and institutions may consider this action worth emulating as a way of ensuring that the national cultural policy review and the formulation process is inclusive of the participation of the stakeholders in the arts and culture sector especially those who were not party to the five cultural policy review consultative meetings held in 2010 and the recently held National Arts and Culture Dialogue that dealt comprehensive with the issue of a national cultural policy.

National associations, individual artists and cultural practitioners, groups and institutions who would like to see what ZITA has submitted to the Ministry and the two cultural researchers appointed to produce the draft cultural policy, can request for the document "Towards a national performing arts policy" from the ZITA Secretariat at lambert.wedehwe@gmail.com.

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