The National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) has announced the constitution of a national team comprising of various players in the Arts and Culture sector to produce the Quadrennial Periodic Report (QPR) as mandated by the United Nations Education Scientific Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.
The UNESCO 2005 Convention is a legally binding document that regulates the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions by encouraging governments to adopt policies and measures which promote the full participation of the citizen in the process of creation, production, dissemination, and distribution of cultural expressions.
In a statement, the NACZ said the Constitution of the team to produce the QPR is according to the main domains (cinema/audio arts, design, media arts, music, publishing, visual arts, performing arts and cultural and creative sectors) contained in the Convention and the focus areas specified in the monitoring framework.
“The QPR is a tool for parties to the convention to document national policies and measures implemented to support the creation, production, distribution, dissemination, and enjoyment of cultural goods and services to share information and to work towards a global overview of the status and trends in the governance of culture at the national and international levels,” the NACZ said.
The team members, drawn from government ministries, major public institutions, the national statistics office, civil society organisations, media organisations and special representatives of civil society organisations promoting gender equality, were selected after having undergone a three-day training programme designed to accomplish the production of the QPR facilitated by local UNESCO Expert, Mr. Farai Mpfunya.
The statement revealed that the national team is expected to engage in the extensive gathering and collation of artistic and cultural data/information including statistics with each member focusing on his/her area of expertise and identifying policies and measures that were crafted and implemented in the past four years to enhance the diversity of cultural expressions and explicitly specifying their respective implementation successes and the attendant challenges.
“The NACZ would thus like to call upon all stakeholders and players in the arts and cultural sector to assist the team through timeous provision of accurate information when asked to do so to enable the team to capture the correct evidence on what has transpired in the sector over the past four years,” said the council.
The National Team Members are:
Joyce Chimanye (ZUVVA), David Chimuka (MVACA/CAAFT), Raisedon Baya (Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo), Silas F. Matope (National Gallery of Zimbabwe), Netto Chigiya (Censorship Department), Daniel Maposa (Savanna Trust), Lisa Sidambe (Nhimbe Trust), Peter Churu (Rooftop Promotions), Florence Majachani (Arterial Network), Desmond Makosa (Ministry of Environment, Climate Change & Tourism), Melody Zambuko (Music Crossroads), Chido Musasiwa-Gutu (Let Them Trust), Handrick Chigiji (ZIMSTAT), Casper Tarumbwa (Ministry of Information & Broadcasting Services), Vasco Chaya (Daily News), Mtandazo Dube (The Sunday Mail), Rodney Ruwende (NACZ), William Ndinde (NACZ), Oliver Chauke, (NACZ) Godfrey Seremwe (Zimbabwe National Commission for UNESCO) and Ian Nyamundanda (Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts & Recreation).
ENDS