Monthly Summary March 2011

Two weekly columns are pasted on the blog on the impact of cultural policies and economies in Africa. One is “The Cultural Weapon” by Mike vaan Graan and the other is “Hitting the Target” by Télesphore Mba Bizo. The latest on the first mentioned column is the programmed demolition of the National Museum in Uganda. In replacement, a highly modern building with some commercial end will rise there. Ugandan politicians and bureaucrats regret that arts and culture poorly contribute in terms of figures to state coffers. They bring no added value to the country’s economy.

The blog bitterly criticises the promotion of capitalist development to burry culture. The demolition of the museum shall wipe out a memory of 100 years. It is the disappearance of a section of Ugandan history.  Besides, it challenges the content of UNESCO Convention on the promotion and protection of the diversity of cultural expressions. Ugandan National Museum has to be saved. It calls for the international mobilisation of all active forces. (http://culturalpolicy-economics-africa.blogspot.com/2011/03/development-as-destroyer-of-culture.html)

Before this, there is another sad news. It has to do with an Arterial Network senior member being denied entry visa into Great Britain. He was invited to attend an initial meeting for a great event billed for 2012 in the United Kingdom. The reasons for the denial are alleged irregularities in money transfers into his bank account, unmarried status, no child at home, and lack of evidence of any closer or distant ties to his country and of any previous participation in similar events in DRC or elsewhere. (http://culturalpolicy-economics-africa.blogspot.com/2011/03/cultural-weapon-blanks-new-threat-to.html)  

The blog sees it as hypocrisy. A kind of double standard policy by the West. Yet, the West has signed UNESCO Convention on the promotion and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions. It stresses access to markets in the global North and the mobility of artists. This visa denial is a blow to a group that was supposed to count 6 people. Now, they are reduced to four, for the representative from Kenya also faced the same denial. Freemuse, an organisation fighting for the freedom of musical expression, reacted: “What an awful story, we’ve heard it too many times before. VISAs and the granting of entry to culture professionals and artists into the EU is a sad story. We did quite a research in 2008-2009 on artists/cultural org’s mobility and found numerous mishaps. You can read more about it on: http://www.freemuse.org/sw30346.asp After some serious lobbying the paper is now listed as a referral document in the European Commission. Before WOMEX last year, and as a follow up to the white paper, we released this quick guide to help the negotiation process:“Artist Visa Applications: Arguments for Success” http://www.freemuse.org/sw39672.asp

The blog further questions the importance of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights. Is it worth the paper it’s written on? Article 4 has it that human rights are inviolable. The African Commission on Human and People’s Rights condemns the use force against civilians in Libya. Besides, a theatre group is to appear in court in Zimbabwe after being detained for two nights for illegal noise making during the performance of a play that reminds political troubles in June 2008. Yet, the Censorship Board had enjoyed the play written by Stephen Chifunyise, one of the 30 cultural experts appointed by UNESCO-EU. In Angola, people had planned to demonstrate on 7 March 2011. The day before, the police arrested citizens and journalists, including a group of rap of 17 members. They were reading poems. All this stresses human rights abuse in Africa. The wonders if the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights worth the paper it’s written on. (http://culturalpolicy-economics-africa.blogspot.com/2011/03/cultural-weapon.html)

“Hitting the Target” concentrated on the danger of free assistance to artists. The syndrome weakens them from inside. Because of pretexts that states have to devise and implement cultural policies and economies, artists limit themselves to producing works of arts.  Yet, politicians use their works as marketing tools. Therefore, it becomes a case  of emergency to embark on the struggle and conquer the decision-making centre. Remaining on the social periphery serves less purpose for artists. (http://culturalpolicy-economics-africa.blogspot.com/2011/04/danger-of-free-assistance.html)

To achieve this, some minimum training is needed. It is a main axis for arts journalists. Training programmes in primary, secondary and higher education should allow some space for the said journalism. Writing here demands that people are both gifted as artists and can deliver professional content. In Cameroon, the University of Buea has just agreed to do so. It was following a workshop on arts and culture in Newsrooms and classrooms. Arterial Network contributed to this. (http://culturalpolicy-economics-africa.blogspot.com/2011/03/arts-and-culture-newsroom-and-classroom.html)

But the major problem remains the state of cultural policies and economies in Africa. It reflects the image of the continent: sorry state and backwardness. It is true that exceptions like South Africa, Egypt or Mali to some extent exist. But the states have to trigger the movement forward in order to allow cultural projects and programmes have structural perspectives. So, civil society is called up to shake the states.  It could even help states in developing cultural policies and economies by adding constructive criticism in the few countries which have them. Meeting this challenge calls on the civil society to rise to an example of good governance. (http://culturalpolicy-economics-africa.blogspot.com/2011/03/situation-of-cultural-policies-and.html)