Africalia participates in the European Development Days (#EDD17).

Together with other partner institutions active in the Culture & Development field, we are pleased to invite you to :

the debate : "Investing in Creativity, the Future is Now"

This debate "Investing in Creativity, the Future is Now", co-organised by 14 partners organisations, will be the EDD’s first event on Wednesday 7th June, from 9:00 to 10:00 AM at Tour & Taxis, Brussels (room A1).

Creative sectors are among the fastest-growing worldwide and the digital evolution opens up new opportunities for business development, including in remote areas. Investment in cultural participation empowers citizens and communities, helping to develop connectedness, wellbeing and social cohesion. The direct and indirect impact of public and private investment in culture on society and economy are tangible in many areas of the world.

The speakers include : the Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development (DEVCO) Stefano Manservisi (tbc), the Assistant Director-General for the Africa Department of the UNESCO Edouard Matoko, the former Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mario Giro, the Senegalese scholar Felwine Sarr and the singer Rokia Traoré.

Key points of the debate

· Culture does not produce simple products which are only economic or financial. Cultural goods are much more : when we are dealing with culture, we are trying to produce a meaning to improve people’s lives and well being.

· Trying to create something lasting requires training. Bringing people from the EU for training is a solution but it is not enough. There are professional trainers in Africa but there is a need for more local trainers. That is where there is an overlap with the job market because there are still not enough professionals to meet all the sector’s needs.

· Producing cultural goods of quality cannot work by just focussing on one link in the chain ; the full ecosystem has to be taken into account : infrastructures, equipment, education, training, cultural centers.

· Other major problems regarding the cultural sector in Africa are the lack of regulation, the non-application of the existing rules or a gap between the rules of the governments and the realities artists are facing. Cultural actors should work together and get organised in order to approach the authorities.

· Red tape in obtaining funding puts off young artists who are disinclined to fill in a lot of forms without being sure of approval (even for 10.000€). International institutions have to ensure young people to get easier access to funding by reconsidering procedures (simplification, discussions with the partners...).

· Artists have decided to grab the bull by the horns and are organising activities, even with no access to adequate funding. International institutions and governments are not aware of all the artists out there and what they are doing. These initiatives have to be brought together (mapping) and the artists’ works have to be promoted ; otherwise, it feels like nothing is happening in Africa today which is not true.

· Linking up artists with cultural promoters and talk about the difficulties they are facing is a way to avoid that they leave the country (brain drain and talent drain) and bring back the ones who left.

· The private sector doesn’t want to waste money. A legislative, economic and financial framework (e.g. tax facilitation, providing guarantees, protecting investors from risks and encouraging them to take a risk within this sector) that allows the private sector to invest has to be created. International institutions have the means to produce this framework that would be favourable for investment in Africa. BUT who are we referring to as the private sector (big companies, SME’s, micro SME’s) ?

· Investors want something sustainable and profitable. Will cultural goods be sold ? Will they work ? Cultural goods have qualitative impacts which have to be taken into account on a long term basis. This is the reason why we need to rethink a new definition of what return on investment really means.

· Art is a kind of laboratory and one cannot be guaranteed of a precise result even if there will always be results. Creditors have to be aware of this when supporting artistic and cultural projects ; they need to be flexible.

More info : https://eudevdays.eu/sessions/investing-creativity-future-now

To access the site and take part in activities, you must register online before the 20th May 2017 on https://eudevdays.eu/register-anonymous.

Credits

Partners of the debate "Investing in Creativity, the Future is Now" : Africalia, Agenda21 for culture (UCGL), Agenzia Italiana per la Cooperazione allo Sviluppo, Arterial Network, Asia-Europe Foundation, BOZAR, British Council, Coopération Education Culture (CEC), Culture et Développement/Territoires Associés, European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM), Goethe-Institut, Interarts, International Music Council, UNESCO.