THE National Arts Council of Zimbabwe and the National Arts Council of Zambia have co-established a joint technical committee (JTC) in a move aimed at strengthening arts and cultural activities in the two former British colonies. JTC was formed at a recent meeting held in Kariba, chaired by the two countries national arts councils’ directors, Elvas Mari from Zimbabwe and Zambia’s Adrian Chipindi.
BY WINSTONE ANTONIO
The committee will be headed by National Arts of Zimbabwe deputy director, Nicholas Moyo, and National Arts Council of Zambia’s head of literature and festivals, Mwiche Chikungu.
The two nations have been working together on different fronts, as they are founding members of the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA) in 2000, in addition to being members of the African Union, Southern African Development Community and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa.
In an interview with NewsDay, Mari said JTC was formed to promote synergies between the two organisations, as part of promoting arts and co-operation among southern African countries.
“The formation of the Joint Technical Committee is timely and appropriate, as both organisations are mandated with championing the arts as common ground, while at the same time strengthening the already existing relationship between the two nations to explore possibilities of promoting and developing the arts and culture,” he said.
“We are confident that we will register positive growth in terms of arts and culture, as we continue working together with our colleagues from Zambia. Zimbabwe and Zambia share similar cultural values and mores in some areas, inclusive of dance, language and even shares natural resources such as the Zambezi River and Kariba Dam.” Mari said the two arts associations had some similarities in their operations, like the terms of regulating the registration and the clearance of artists.
“Music promoters in Zimbabwe and Zambia are being charged annually to renew their operational licences and required to pay to all government departments for the bringing-in of foreign acts, with the only difference being on the figures charged to the players,” he said.
