(A paper
presented by Stephen Chifunyise at
the SADC DAY CELEBRATIONS
SYMPOSIUM ,held at the
National Gallery of Zimbabwe , Harare , Zimbabwe on 17th August 2012)
INTRODUCTION
In the preamble
of the SADC Protocol on Culture, Information and Sport, the Heads of State or
Government of the SADC declared that
they were “convinced that culture plays a
vital role in the process of and are therefore a sine qua non for the
integration and cooperation of the
member states constituting the SADC”.¹. The Heads of State or Government took this position being mindful of one of the
objectives of the SADC spelt out in the SADC Treaty which is “ to strengthen and consolidate the historical, social and cultural
affinities and links among the people of
Region.”²
In this
discourse, I am preoccupied with the task of highlighting and drawing attention
to the enormous potential of the practice of art by the people as a
vehicle for promoting regional
integration in the SADC. It is necessary that I point out, right from the onset of this discourse ,that the term “art” is being used to describe that activity “that involves imagination and capacity to generate ideas and novel ways
of interpreting the world, expressed in text, sound and images.”³
The term “art”
will also be used interchangeably with such terms as “cultural goods” or “cultural
products” which the SADC Protocol on Culture ,Information and Sport defines
as “goods or products created or
produced by cultural agents including creators, performers and other people in
the field of culture or associated with such cultural activities as
audio-visual arts, crafts, performing arts, publishing, cultural heritage and
cultural tourism.”4
The African
Union’s Plan of Action for the Development of Endogenous Cultural Industries in
Africa within the Perspective of Setting Up an African Cultural Common Market
explained in its preamble that “cultural
products are expressed not only in terms of material goods and services but
also embody values, sentiments, beliefs, world views and individual as well as
collective memories.”5
In this
discourse, the term “art” shall also encompass “expressions of folklore” which the Swakopmund Protocol on the
Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Expressions of Folklore within the
framework of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization defines as
“any forms whether tangible or
intangible in which traditional culture and knowledge are expressed, appear or
are manifested and comprise the
following forms of expression or combinations thereof: a).Verbal Expressions-
stories, epics, legends, poetry, riddles and other narratives in words, signs,
names and symbols; b) Musical Expressions such as songs and instrumental music; c) Expressions
by movements-such as dance and plays; and d). Tangible expressions
such as productions of art in particular
drawings, designs, paintings,(including body painting), carvings, sculpture, pottery,
terracotta, glassware, carpets, costumes, handicrafts, musical instruments and
architectural forms.”6
Another term
that will be used interchangeably with “art”,
”cultural products” “cultural goods””expressions of
folklore” is “cultural industry” which
the African Union’s Nairobi Plan of Action for Cultural Industries in
Africa defines as ”the mass production and
distribution of products which convey ideas, messages, symbols, opinions, information and moral and aesthetic values”7.
In UNESCO cultural industries are
defined as “those industries that
combine the production and commercialization of content which are intangible
and culture in nature”8. UNESCO regards cultural industries as being critical in promoting and maintaining cultural
diversity and in ensuring democratic access to culture. Equally useful is the
term “creative industry” which the
United Nations Centre for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) defines as “the cycle of creation ,production and
distribution of goods and services that use creativity and intellectual capital
as primary inputs. These comprise a set of
knowledge-based activities that
produce tangible goods and intangible or artistic services with creative
content of economic value and market objectives”9
A more recent
term that captures the activities described by the different terms discussed
earlier is “ creative economy” – a
term that according to UNCTAD has “emerged as a means of focusing attention on the role
of creativity as a force of contemporary economic life, embodying the
proposition that economic and cultural development are not separate or
unrelated phenomena but part of a larger process of sustainable development in
which both economic and cultural growth
can occur hand in hand.”10 UNCTAD observed in 2008 that the idea of
creative economy in the developing
world draws attention to the significant
creative assets and rich
cultural resources that exist in all
developing countries .It further stated that these resources not only enable developing countries “ to tell their own stories
and to project their own unique cultural identities to themselves and to
the world but they also provide these
countries with a source of economic
growth, employment creation and increased participation in the global economy”
11
At the heart
of the creative economy are “creative
industries” which UNCTAD classifies
as follows:1. Visual Arts-painting,
sculpture, photography, and antiquities, 2. Performing arts- live music,
theatre, dance opera, circus;’ 3.Traditional cultural expressions- art,
crafts, festivals, ceremonies and celebrations; 4. Cultural sites-archeological
sites, museums, galleries ,libraries, archives and heritage sites; 5.Publishing
and print media-books, press and other publications;6. Design-
interior design graphic design, fashion, jewellery, toys; 7.New Media- digital
arts advertising, architectural services; 8 Audio-visuals- film, television,
radio and other broadcasting.
This
effort at looking closely at the terms “art” ,“expression of folklore”, “cultural products,” cultural goods ,”cultural industries”, “creative
industries” and “creative economy” are
aimed at describing the complexity of the field often stated as art, the arts, or arts and culture
sector that, as shown above , is a vast and dynamic sector or field with a wide
diversity of production activities and structures at grassroots level in both rural and
urban areas involving wide a spectrum of people and with potential to
contribute greatly to income growth and
development.
In 2000 the
SADC Inter-ministerial Conference on the Role and Place of Culture in the
Regional Integration Agenda held in
Maputo, Mozambique, called upon member states “ to take decisive steps towards the promotion of cultural
industries as a way of exploiting their
capabilities to alleviate poverty,
generate employment contribute economic growth.”12 That conference articulated extensively ways in which culture was to
drive the regional integration agenda. In fact one can sum up the proceedings
of that SADC Inter-ministerial conference as restating the objectives of the
SADC Protocol on Culture, Information and Sport which are as follows:
a) Promotion of an attitude that
takes culture into account in regional
development programmes;
b) Creation of a socio-cultural
environment within which regional integration ideals of the SADC can be
realized;
c) Ensuring that culture plays a
significant role in the economic development of the Region and evaluation of
all SADC projects and programme for their cultural impact;
d) Promotion of the use of indigenous
languages for the promotion of the cultural identity of the Region
e) Identification, promotion and coordination
of projects in the culture field, including experience and information exchange between diverse
cultures of the Region.
It is very clear that the guidelines for
the use of the arts or the arts and culture as a vector for regional
integration in the SADC are eloquently expressed and provided for in the SADC Treaty and the SADC Protocol
on Culture Information and Sport. In the remainder of this discourse a few examples
of opportunities for using culture or
art as a viable vehicle for regional integration in the SADC will be useful examples of some of the efforts initiated in
this regard and opportunities that have
not been utilized as well those that should be taken advantage of.
It is vital to recognize the fact that
the African Union’s goal of creating an
African Cultural Common Market cannot be
achieved in the absence of structures
that build regional cultural common markets as projected in the Plan of Action
for the Development of Endogenous Cultural
Industries in Africa within the
Perspective of Setting Up an African Cultural Common Market. The concept of the
SADC Arts and Culture Festivals which
was implemented between 1995 and 2004
had begun to build what should have initiated a SADC cultural common market as
creators of the cultural products who dialogued at the SADC Music Festival in
Harare, the SADC Visual Arts and Crafts Exhibition in Swakopmund, The SADC
Theatre Festival in Maputo, the SADC Dance Festival in Harare and SADC Multi-disciplinary
Arts Festival in Johannesburg began to examine critical features of the value
chain of cultural industries within the framework of the Community; the
potential and strategies for regional
collaboration in the production of quality cultural products as well seeking
lasting solutions to problems that hinder the movements and engagement of creative and
performing artist within the SADC.
During the consultative forums and
workshops at the SADC Arts and Culture Festivals, it was realized that one
major driver of regional integration was
the establishment of regional bodies of
arts and culture associations and federations that were expected eventually to
take over the responsibility of
organizing discipline specific SADC arts and culture festivals and to create
regular forums for exchange of idea on
arts development in the region as well as furthering the objectives of the
Protocol on Culture. Vigorous efforts in
forming regional arts and culture bodies and networks in the areas of theatre,
film, museums, oral traditions, festivals, music, arts education, broadcasting,
the spoken word, fashion, visual arts and music promotion have met with serious challenges arising from the poor articulation by member states of the ideals
of regional integration and the excessive dependence on external funding of
these organisations and their forums.
Recently noted is that when cultural
agents from the SADC meet at international forums outside the region, they
acknowledge the need for the SADC to
articulate its position as a solid Cultural Block to ensure that SADC is
represented at international arts and culture bodies by informed and articulate representatives
who understand the regional cultural space and will be accessible to
stakeholders in the Region. These
efforts have also suffered from the
absence of SADC forums for consultation and harmonization of positions before international cultural forums are convened.
At the SADC Dance Festival in Harare,
performers and managers of dance groups from all the members states considered possibilities of putting together
groups of dancers that would create dance products reflecting the rich , unique and diverse dance
heritage of the SADC for the global market. It was argued then that
similar groups with music , visual arts
and theatre products of the SADC comprising
of performers selected from all member
states would be excellent vehicle of demonstrating
the historical and cultural affinities of the people of the Region while presenting
to the world the rich diversity of the
cultural expressions of the people that constitute the SADC.
Equally sought in the consultative
forums during the decade of the SADC Arts and Culture Festivals was the idea of sharing skills, technology,
infrastructure and production and distribution channels in the areas of film
and music production in order for the SADC
to produce films and musical products for competitive penetration of the global
market. In their 2010 Creative Economy Report UNCTAD/UNDP indicated that in their
survey on the state of the music recording industries in Africa, only South
Africa and Zimbabwe had established
music recording industries. If the idea of sharing skills, technology and
infrastructure to produce competitive products for the global market had taken root
in the SADC, South Africa and Zimbabwe
would have become creative hubs for the production of music- which
hubs would have been used by the other SADC member states to achieve higher levels of music production for
the regional and global market.
In the same 2010 report, three
countries in the SADC- South Africa, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of
the Congo are indicated as having established vibrant performance industries. A strategy of sharing
experiences within the regional framework
would enable the other member
states to learn from these best
practices as well as to develop a viable
regional performance industry by addressing the challenges being faced by the other member states where
performance industries are not well established.
During the SADC Arts and Culture
Festivals the committee of senior officials responsible for organizing the
regional events sought to promote the
SADC as a Cultural Block marketed as a collaborative and integrated producer of high quality
cultural products that express the rich diversity of cultural
expressions of the Region. This objective
of promoting SADC as a Cultural Block should be realized by SADC organizations
of creators and events where SADC
cultural products are exhibited . This should include consideration of developing
a system of selecting and designating a
city in the SADC each year as a SADC
Cultural Capital as well as the development
a strategy of getting SADC cities
become members of the UNESCO Creative City Network. This year the City
of Harare has applied for consideration by UNESCO as a Creative City of Sculpture.
Five years after the establishment of
the SADC Sector for Culture Information and Sport, the Council of Minister’s recommendation
for the establishment of the Southern African Cultural Information System
(SACIS) was adopted by the SADC
Summit. This led to the establishment of
national offices of SACIS in all member
states which had by 1999 begun to exchange cultural statistics although limited
to data on creators, performers and their organizations.
There is no doubt that the collapse of
the SACIS project was mainly due to the
fact that member states of the SADC were at that time not ready to accommodate
the use of information and communication technologies in building and exchanging data on culture
sector. It is now possible to resuscitate the SACIS idea as the SADC Cultural
Information System in view of the rapid internet penetration in the region
assisted by the huge increase in access to internet networks and platforms to exchange cultural statistics ranging from arts and culture events such as
festivals, trade fairs, conferences, creators forums and projects to data on trade on cultural goods and services
.
Cultural statistics have become very
crucial in the development of policy actions and strategies for the development and promotion a viable
creative economy. The UNCTAD /UNDP Creative Economy Reports of 2008 and 2010
clearly show that data on the performance of the creative and cultural
industries in the SADC and their contribution to international trade in
cultural goods and services is very poor. The SADC Cultural Information
System would be a regional data
base on the capacity of the cultural and
creative industries of the SADC as well as being a viable platform for promoting critical institutions responsible for marketing cultural goods and
services in the Region.
With the
financial support of UNESCO’s International Fund for the Diversity of Cultural
Expressions, Zimbabwe is currently
trying a cultural statistics gathering instrument which
is intended to show the contribution of the arts and culture sector to national economy. It is vital that
the results of this survey and instrument are shared by the SADC and considered
for use in the process of developing an instrument for collection and
compilation of regional cultural statistics.. A SADC Cultural Information
System would be a vital tool for
providing data on the performance of creative economy in the region to the World Creative Economy Report that is
produced every two years by UNCTAD and UNDP.
The
SADC can effectively capitalize on its rich cultural diversity by
developing collaborative programmes of marketing products of its
cultural diversity. It has been noted that quite a large spectrum of the arts
and crafts that are on sale at the Oliver Tambo Airport in Johannesburg in
South Africa are produced in different parts of the SADC.
Appreciating the fact that that airport is a major gateway to the
SADC even for those in transit to other parts of the world should ensure
the adoption of collaborative efforts of Member States in collecting the
artwork from different communities in the SADC in such a way that the producers
of the cultural goods also benefit from the viable export of their products.
Such collaborative marketing of cultural goods from member states would
be a viable act of promoting regional cultural-economic activities
which promote the respect of diversity of cultural identities
of the producers of the cultural goods. Buyers from all over the world who
transit through Oliver Tambo Airport should be happy to note that
the arts and crafts shops at that airport enables them to access a large
diversity of the cultural expressions in the SADC.
In 2010 the
Soccer World Cup hosted by South Africa
offered the SADC an opportunity to collectively market its rich cultural
diversity. That opportunity was not
adequately taken advantage of because of
uncoordinated approaches and
irreconcilable policy positions on how the World Cup would benefit the
arts and culture sector of the Region.
In August 2013 Zambia and Zimbabwe
will host the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s General
Assembly in Victoria Falls and Livingstone.
This will be another opportunity
for the SADC to effectively capitalize on its rich and huge creative and
cultural diversity by developing
collectively a viable platform for marketing to the world .
Through this gathering of eminent tourism professionals and tourists a well selected
and properly packaged rich variety of cultural goods illustrating the rich diversity of cultural
expressions of the people of the SADC. For this to happen effectively, all
those involved in preparing for this unique tourism event must be reminded of
the commitment made by the Heads of State or Government of the SADC in the
Treaty to the duty of the SADC “ to promote the interdependence and
integration of our national economies for the harmonious, balanced and
equitable development of the Region “ 13 as well as
to the commitment to “involve fully the people of the Region and
key stakeholders in the process of regional integration.”14 The identification of key stakeholders in the
creative and cultural industries who will produce unique cultural products and market our rich regional
cultural diversity is the major task
that should be followed by communication of comprehensive
and decisive information on who is expected to participate in providing the cultural goods and services
to this world tourism event,
The
African Union’s Nairobi Plan of Action on Cultural Industries recommended
the establishment of regional tourism routes that were expected to
benefit all member states across all cultural sectors. The Plan of Action
indicated that in the SADC Region , the Regional Tourism Organisation of
Southern Africa (RETOSA) had been tasked with the role of
designing, marketing and coordinating the SADC tourism route. At most of the
arts and culture forums in Zimbabwe such as those of the Zimbabwe Creative
Civil Society these efforts of RETOSA to design, market and coordinate the
SADC tourism route are not known to arts and cultural practitioners in
Zimbabwe. Artists and cultural workers I have made contacts with in the
programmes of implementing the two UNESCO Conventions on the Safeguarding
of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and on the Protection and Promotion of the
Diversity of Cultural Expressions in Lesotho, Swaziland Botswana, Namibia,
Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe have not shown knowledge of the efforts of
RETOSA in designing, marketing and coordinating a SADC tourism routes.
Since the establishment of the SADC many arts and culture events
which can become the backbone of the SADC tourism route have been established.
A paper I recently submitted to the Minister
of Tourism and Hospitality recommending the harnessing of cultural festivals as
sustainable tourism products showed that there are more than 35
arts and culture festivals in Zimbabwe ranging from community festivals
to mega international festivals such as the Harare International Festival of
the Arts (HIFA) that can be the back born of Zimbabwe’s cultural
tourism. Zambia has published a schedule of more that 80
traditional ceremonies/ festivals which are attracting a huge
number of international heritage tourists.
All the SADC states have many arts and culture
festivals which when put together will appropriately become the SADC
tourism route when linked to the eco-tourism routes that are being
developed through the linking of wild life conservancies and trans-frontier
wildlife parks in the Region.
Such a tourism route would encompass all the world heritage
sites in the SADC, all other cultural sites such as galleries, theme
parks, and museums, recreational and entertainment parks.
The production and presentation of a SADC
Tourism Route to the forth coming UN World Tourism Organisation’s General Assembly would be a viable strategy in the promotion of
sustainable tourism in the SADC. The production of such a tourism marketing
tool calls for collaboration between stakeholders in the tourism sector
and stakeholders in the arts and culture including ministries,
private and public institutions, associations of key stakeholders in the
arts and culture sector.
The marketing
of the SADC as a solid cultural block enables
the region to integrate into
the global cultural market by nurturing collaborative exploitation of its rich cultural resources and
abundant raw materials. So far ,the SADC
has not tapped into the vast reserves of
its creativity to beneficiate its rich
natural resources into finished cultural
goods. For example it is has been claimed that the SADC has the largest deposit of diamonds in the world. This valuable mineral and other minerals are also raw materials used in the production of the most sought after jewellery. It has
also been reported that the SADC is mostly exporting uncut and un beneficiated diamonds because of the
critical shortage of specialist diamond cutters, designers and skilled artisans
for the production of the required
variety of jewellery.. Opportunities to exchange skills and technology for the
production of required expertise in diamond cutting, designing and production
of jewellery should have become a regional priority. In other words, the goal
of economic integration should have necessitated the production of a regional
strategy of collectively training diamond cutters, designers and jewellery
producing artisans.
The two
International Funds for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage and for the
Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions offer
opportunities for financial support to
regional projects for safeguarding and promotion of common intangible cultural
heritage and the promotion of diversity of cultural expressions of the regions.
This opportunity can only be taken advantage of by public and private cultural
institutions in the region working together to safeguard and promote the common
cultural heritage shared by the people
of Region.
Many recommendations
on how regional economic blocks in
Africa can use culture to enhance regional integration are
contained in the African Union’s Plan of Action for the Development of Endogenous Cultural
Industries in Africa within the Perspective of Setting Up an African Cultural
Common Market. The following are some of the recommendations:
1. Adoption of national book fairs as regional markets and forums for forging regional collaborations in the
development of teaching materials for
the Region;
2. Creation of regional book publishers associations that
would sensitive policy makers and
governments on how to share experiences
on joint publications of school textbooks capable of covering several countries in the Region;
3. Setting up regional structures that
ensure proficient distribution within the region of audio-visual products produced in the
region;
4. Designating creative industry parks and leisure and
entertainment sites as regional creative and cultural industrial hubs;
5. Setting up of regional teams of
experts to conduct research in the region to evaluate the contribution of
cultural industries to national economies
of the region and poverty reduction using a common framework of cultural indicators.
6. Setting up of regional think tanks to
consider measures that can be taken to
promote coherent regional cultural
development policies .
CONCLUSION
There is no doubt that to implement
these recommendations and the objectives of using culture as a vector for
regional integration in the SADC, the SADC ministers responsible for arts and
culture and tourism should
resuscitate consultative platforms for developing regional strategies for facilitating and promoting greater interaction and
exchanges among cultural agents of the region
as stated in Article 8 of the SADC Protocol on Culture, Information and Sport;
as well as developing a forum to consider UNCTAD/UNDP Creative Economy reports
in order to appreciate what actions can be taken to ensure that culture plays a
major role as a vector for regional
integration and development. It vital this unique occasion of commemorating the
founding of the SADC be one of the major
platforms to involve all those involve in the promotion
of arts and
culture in the SADC in a dialogue on
how to enhance the role of culture in
the process of regional integration and
cooperation among the people constituting the SADC.
****************************************************************************************************
REFERENCES.
1.
SADC Protocol on Culture, Information
and Sport
2.
Declaration and Treaty of the SADC
3.
UNCTAD/UNDP 2008 Creative Economy
Report
4.
SADC Protocol on Culture , Information
and Sport
5.
Plan of Action for the Development of
Endogenous Cultural Industries within
the Perspective of Setting Up an African Cultural Common Market.
6.
Swakopmund Protocol on the Protection of Traditional Knowledge
and Expressions of Folklore within the
Framework of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization
7.
Nairobi Plan of Action for the
Development of Cultural Industries in
Africa.
8.
UNCTAD/UNDP 2010 Creative Economy
Report
9.
UNCTAD/ UNDP 2010 Creative Economy
Report
10.
UNCTAD/UNDP 2010 Creative Economy
Report
11.
UNCTAD/UNDP 2010 Creative Economy
Report
12.
Nairobi Plan of Action on the Development of
the Cultural Industries in Africa.
13.
Declaration and Treaty of the SADC
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