Africa-Press – Botswana. Policy Specialist (Arts and Culture) in the Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sports and Culture (MYSC), Dean Molebatsi, has challenged the European Union (EU) to open its market to African music.
He said this on Wednesday at the two-day Music Industry Summit, which was co-hosted by MYSC, EU, and National Arts Council of Botswana (NACB).
The Summit was held to guide Botswana’s Culture and Creative Industries (CCI) sector towards commercialisation, with the music industry used as a pilot.
It also aimed at identifying shortfalls that restrict growth, as well as find new approaches that will enable commercialisation of Botswana’s creative industries.
Molebatsi said there was concern about the inaccessibility of the EU market for African artists.
He indicated that through the summit, the Ministry hoped to establish relations for future cooperation, as well as knowledge and experience sharing in different that are critical to the sector’s commercialisation.
He further said the Ministry would continue to avail resources and support initiatives that were geared towards the promotion and development of the CCI sector.
Head of the EU delegation to Botswana, Clement Boutillier, pledged the EU’s continued support to the creative sector and young people in Botswana.
He said through its 2021-2027 strategy, EU would continue to support diversification of Botswana’s economy.
“It is for this reason that the European Union strongly supported the choice of the government of Botswana to select this issue as one of the key priorities to be implemented under the EU-Botswana Policy Dialogue Facility,” Boutillier said.
Boutillier underscored the importance of the CCI sector in ensuring the development of all societies.
He said the sector supports social cohesion by promoting shared values, as well as showcasing the cultural diversity of a country and increasing its attractiveness beyond its border.
He emphasised that the sector can be powerful way of projecting a country and its culture on the world stage.
Boutillier said the EU funds various programmes in partner countries that included promotion and protection of cultural heritage and identity building, as well as strengthening CCI sector.
He added that the EU has also been working on strengthening the resilience of the cultural sector, particularly in the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic, which adversely affected the sector.
“Botswana has benefited from grants that support locally made films and traditional music.
We certainly hope that that there will be more opportunities in the future,” Boutillier noted.
The Summit attracted international and local CCI role players such as artists, industry executives, educators, entrepreneurs and policy makers.
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