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Introducing Arts-Vote Campaign Zimbabwe
Bulawayo Arts Forum
February 24, 2012

The Bulawayo Arts Forum (BAF) is pleased to announce the Arts-Vote Campaign, our initiative, which seeks to:

• Identify, educate and train Arts-Vote Campaign leaders/Activists, and mobilize potential voters to register as voters, in order to help influence aspiring election candidates to take strong positions for the arts and culture in Zimbabwe.
• Secure bold new policy proposals in support of the arts and culture from aspiring election candidates during the national elections campaign cycle.
• Raise the level of knowledge about civic and cultural rights and responsibilities among artists.
• Promote artists' level of meaningful participation in the electoral process.
• Facilitate engagement of artists in the process of renewing political leadership as a key factor affecting healthy arts funding and effective implementation of the Creative Civil Society's Plan of Action for Arts and Culture (NPAAC); national policies and legislation governing the arts and culture; and UNESCO Conventions and other international standard setting instruments in the field of culture that Zimbabwe has ratified.

The short-term Goals of the Arts-Vote Campaign include five specific asks to all political parties/candidates in the next elections:

• What is your party's policy on arts and culture promotion and development in Zimbabwe?
• What is your vision for arts and culture in our community and Zimbabwe?
• What measures will you put in place to ensure and sustain arts and culture's contribution to our community and to Zimbabwe?
• What measures will you put in place to ensure that artists and arts organizations in our community and in Zimbabwe have an increased presence on the world stage?
• What measures will you put in place to ensure that Zimbabwe's arts and cultural heritage becomes an integral part of the country's foreign policy and the work of Zimbabwean Embassies throughout the world?
• What specific policies would you promote to ensure our children receive well-rounded education with comprehensive arts curricula in their local schools?

Become a Patron/Constituency of the Arts-Vote Campaign

We are inviting like-minded organizations and leading personalities who are passionate about the arts and culture sector in Zimbabwe to become Constituencies and Patrons of the Arts-Vote Campaign. The role of the Constituencies and Patrons is to drive the mission and goals of the Art-Vote Campaign - through tailored organizational activities - as part of a broad-based Arts-Vote Coalition operating through 10 lead provincial Constituencies and 52 District Constituencies throughout Zimbabwe.

Guiding Principle:

Non-partisan: No activities of the Arts-Vote Campaign can endorse or criticize any candidate or political party, and these include artists seeking political office.

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