BY WINSTONE ANTONIO STAKEHOLDERS in the creative sector yesterday gathered in the capital for the validation of the five-year National Music Strategy document crafted by the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe and sector partners drawn from the country’s 10 provinces.
The strategy document draft is considered to be part of broader development efforts in the Zimbabwean cultural and creative industries (CCI) sector.
It was produced with support of the European Union (EU)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) expert facility on the governance of culture in developing countries.
Director of arts and culture promotion and development in the Arts ministry Biggie Samwanda in a speech read on his behalf said the music strategy document draft was informed by key documents, namely The National Arts Culture and Heritage Policy and Cultural and Creative Industry Strategy.
“Music by its nature is a major facet of the cultural and creative industries. It is highly visible and developing a music strategy implies that we need to harvest the low hanging fruits for the practitioners and for the nation as we create employment and generate income for the fiscus,” he said.
“The ministry is pleased with the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe for crafting the strategy at an opportune time when the government, particularly the ministry and its implementing agencies, is placing the CCIs at the centre of Zimbabwe economic trajectory.”
He added: “National Arts Council of Zimbabwe as a government agency under the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation responded to the call by the European Union and Unesco facility for the governance of the cultural and creative industries.”
“In this regard as the ministry we would like to applaud the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe for taking this initiative of gleaning into the National Cultural and Creative Strategy to inform on the individual components of coming up with a music strategy in this European Union and Unesco partnership.”
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
Samwanda said the music strategy document directly fed into NDS1 and Vision 2030.
“As government, we are glad to see EU/Unesco partnering with the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe in coming up with a product that nurtures the culture of inclusive and participatory stakeholder engagement,” he said.
“This we can bear witness to today as it is the process that is culminating in the validation exercise. It remains critical that all stakeholders and stockholders in the music fraternity remain committed to the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of this strategy.”
He added: “The Ministry remains committed to giving full support and ensuring facilitation to the development and implementation of sector specific strategies needed to advance the CCIs sector that has been battered by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Speaking at the same event, National Arts Council of Zimbabwe director Nicholas Moyo said the creative sector should take ownership of the industry.
“We want to invest in the ownership of the music strategy as we are building a music industry. This is the idea of coming up with this National Music Strategy document as we want the artistes to be able to enjoy the fruits of the industry,” he said.
“The main thrust of the National Music Strategy is to create a robust, adaptive and economically sustainable music sector in Zimbabwe. The strategy is to help the music sector operate efficiently and profitably in the national, regional and international music arenas.”
- Follow Winstone on Twitter@widzoanto
