In the spirit of the UNESCO ResiliArt Movement, two Eastern African countries held online public debates with key stakeholders in the cultural and creative industries sector to share experiences and perspectives on the effects of COVID-19 on artists, performers and other actors working in the sector.
The Uganda Ministry in charge of culture was the first to respond to the successful global launch of the UNESCO ResiliArt Movement on 15 April 2020 in Paris, by organizing a national Resiliart Uganda debate less than twenty-four hours after the Global launch.
ResiliArt is a global movement initiated by UNESCO on World Art Day that aims to strengthen the resilience of artists and cultural professionals in the face of the enormous challenges posed by the current health crisis in the wake of the global pandemic COVID-19. The ResiliArt debates are foreseen as an online series of discussions and exchanges with key industry professionals, both established and emerging artists, in order to identify how we can ensure the continuity of arts and culture during these challenging times.
Themed “Resilience, Hope and Arts in Uganda: Opportunities and Challenges during COVID-19 and Beyond,” the Uganda webinar on 16 April 2020 was organized and moderated by the Commissioner for Culture and Family Affairs, Ms. Juliana Naumo, who intends to continue organizing these debates on a weekly basis every Thursday at 11 am during the pandemic. Six panelists included well-known artists in various cultural sectors such as film producers, musicians and composers, actors and writers as well as the chairperson of the Uganda National Cultural Centre. The riveting discussion, which attracted forty participants, centered around the constraints artists are facing as a result of the current confinement measures meted by the government as necessary procedures to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. The discussants also shared ways they were mitigating the negative effects, and finding solutions in creating content under the new and challenging circumstances, including building diverse local audiences through various digital platforms. It was a platform where the panelists also requested the government’s intervention in mobilizing resources to build a “Creative Industry Rescue Fund,” aimed at reducing the distress cultural practitioners continue to endure in the face of the COVID19 lockdown. In her closing remarks, Ms. Naumo said “This has been an enlightening engagement that has highlighted the challenges and opportunities faced by creatives in Uganda. I also appreciate the interventions suggested by the discussants during the webinar.” She added that the second series of the Uganda ResiliArt debate will be held on Thursday, 23 April 2020 at 11 am.
In Kenya, UNESCO National Officer for Culture, Ms. Judith Ogana, participated in a webinar organised on 16 April 2020 by the Africa Digital Media Foundation on “Life after COVID - what do African creatives need to weather the impact of COVID-19 on the industry and their livelihoods?” With similar aims as those of the UNESCO ResiliArt movement, the forum also sought to bring together industry practitioners affected by the economic downturn and quasi-lockdown, to discuss the impact that COVID19 is having, and what measures can be taken and what advocacy can be conducted to mitigate and overcome the impact after the crisis.
Panelists included copyright experts, celebrity musicians and DJ’s, representatives from civil society organizations as well as a representative from UNESCO. The lively ninety-minute discussion focused on finding ways of safeguarding artists livelihoods and creativity as well as the wellbeing and mental health of practitioners. Discussions on organizing and structuring the sector to better serve all creatives, copyright issues in the boom of exposure on digital content, and engagement with government on artists’ social welfare, with reference to UNESCO’s 1980 Recommendation Concerning The Status of the Artist, were also issues that were discussed. During this forum, which was attended by over 150 people, UNESCO also introduced the ResiliArt movement as an excellent digital platform for the exchange of ideas, advocacy and seeking solutions to the ramifications on the Culture and Creative Industries of the global pandemic. The UNESCO Don’t Go Viral campaign was also shared with participants as means for artists to help raise awareness of COVID-19 prevention measures.