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Creative civil society mounts arts and culture advocacy campaign
Zimbabwe Creative Civil Society's Plan of Action for Arts and Culture
June 08, 2012

From the 28th of April to the 30th of May, 14 arts and culture practitioners and activists participated in a training workshop in Harare on tools for advocacy and lobbying for the arts and culture sector. The training, which was hosted by Nhimbe Trust with funding from ProHelvetia and technical support from Arterial Network, was one of the first major steps in the implementation of the Zimbabwe Creative Civil Society's 3 year Plan of Action on the arts and culture formulated in 2011. In the plan of action the Steering Committee tasked Nhimbe Trust to undertake training of arts and culture practitioners and activists in advocacy and lobbying. The training workshop was attended by a carefully selected team of arts and culture practitioners and activists from Harare and Bulawayo to ensure that participants would begin to promote a culture of rights based advocacy and lobbying.

In order to put together all the issues that would be the main subjects of the arts and culture advocacy and lobbying campaign, Nhimbe Trust commissioned researchers who produced reports on the following:

1. Cultural Governance in Zimbabwe

2. The National Arts Council of Zimbabwe Act: Application and implications to the arts and culture sector

3. National Arts Council's Festival Guidelines

4. National Gallery of Zimbabwe Act

5. Censorship Act and its application to the arts and culture sectors

6. The Broadcasting Services Act

7. Implementation of the 7 UNESCO Conventions in the field of culture.

Research in the seven areas of immediate concerns was undertaken from 1st March to 24th May by Florence Makanga-Majachani, Pathisa Nyathi, Stephen Chifunyise, Dr. Jacob Mapara, Nehemiah Chivandikwa, Eric Mazango, Ngonidzashe Muwonwa and Dr. Shumirai Nyota. Another researcher was commissioned to analyze the research reports in order to pick from each report, research findings and recommendations that would constitute the content of the workshop.

Facilitated by Stephen Chifunyise and Sharlene Versfeld, the workshop aimed at equipping arts and culture practitioners and activists with tools to analyze the legal, fiscal, institutional and administrative issues impacting on the performance of the arts and culture sector in Zimbabwe. The workshop was also intended to create an opportunity for participants to understand how the creative civil society can contribute to solving challenges to the performance of the arts and culture sector and also to up-skill the arts and culture practitioners and activists with practical tools to conduct advocacy programmes in the arts and culture sector.

In the first part of the workshop, research findings and recommendations of the researchers were discussed. Participants agreed on issues, which were to be prioritized as the content for advocacy and lobbying campaign. This exercise was premised on issues the arts and culture practitioners and activists considered as impacting on efforts to grow a vibrant and viable arts and culture sector in Zimbabwe - issues which needed to be attended to urgently in order to remove obstacles to the development of the arts and culture.

The following were the issues the participants prioritized:

1. Advocacy for the creation of a stand alone ministry of arts and culture and the establishment of a government resourced national arts fund.

2. Advocacy for a heritage month and the identification and promotion of national contacts points for UNESCO conventions in the field of culture which Zimbabwe ratified.

3. Review of policy on registration of arts and culture organizations with the National Arts Council and advocacy for amendments of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe Act

4. Advocacy for urgent amendments of the National Arts Council Festival Guidelines

5. Advocacy for amendments of the Censorship and Entertainment Act

6. Advocacy for the amendment of the National Gallery Act

7. Review of and clarification on the 75% local content policy and advocacy for the amendment of the Broadcasting Services Act.

At the end of the workshop, the participants constituted themselves into the National Plan of Action on Arts and Culture Advocacy and Lobbying Team (NPAAC Advocacy and Lobbying Team) comprising of the following:.

Raisedon Baya, Peter Churu, Virginia Phiri, Victor Moyo, Nyaradzo Mutonhori, Michael Mabwe, Jane Parsons, Daniel Maposa, Value Dick, Stephen Chifunyise and Josh Nyapimbi. The NPAAC Advocacy and Lobbying Team proceeded to produce a short term arts and culture advocacy plan of action limited to the following areas:

1. Cultural Governance in Zimbabwe.

The NPAAC Advocacy and Lobbying team will advocate for the creation of a stand alone ministry of arts and culture. The current segmentation of various departments and statutory bodies that incubate arts and culture portfolios in different ministries has led to incoherent formulation and implementation of cultural policies and policy actions and an uncoordinated development of the arts and culture sector.

2. National Arts Council Festival Guidelines

The team will advocate for user friendly NACZ Festival Guidelines. The current guidelines infringe on the rights and freedom of expression of artists and arts organisations and stall the growth and development of the arts sector by making it difficult for artists and arts organisations to organize and run their festivals. The guidelines should be amended and made user-friendly.

3. National Arts Council of Zimbabwe Act

The team will advocate for the urgent amendment of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe Act. The current Act is outdated. It has not been reviewed and amended since it was promulgated in 1985 inspite of the tremendous developments that have taken place in the arts sector. The National Arts Council of Zimbabwe should be an arts development organ rather a mere regulator. Amending the Act is necessary to transform the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe into a transparent, accountable, well resourced and accessible arts development organ.

The NPAAC Steering Committee is convinced that the media has a crucial role to play as the most important channel of making the stakeholders in the arts and culture and policy makers aware of the critical actions that should be taken to grow a vibrant and viable arts and culture sector in Zimbabwe.

This is why the NPAAC Advocacy and Lobbying team has committed itself to regular dialogue with the media on the implementation of its Advocacy and Lobbying Plan of Action and the Zimbabwe Creative Civil Society's 3 Year Plan of Action on Arts and Culture, which we are making available to all members of the press present here this morning.

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