Zimbabwe in the last four years has been seized with ensuring a robust development of cultural and creative industries and within that process the diversity of aesthetic and cultural expressions was enhanced. The number of arts and culture festivals at all levels; community, district, provincial and national increased thus promoting the diversity of cultural expressions and ultimately feeding into the implementation of the 2005 Convention. Working hand-in-glove with the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe and the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation placed arts and culture on an enhanced development trajectory buttressed by an number of measures and policies designed to enhance the diversity of cultural expressions. Each year during the period under review, the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) hosted the annual Arts and Culture 'Indaba', a meeting platform that draws all stakeholders in the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) sector including civil society organisations.These come to deliberate on the status of the CCIs, taking stock of the effectiveness of policies and measures enacted to prop up the same industries. They also proffer ways and suggestions of how to conduct CCIs issues and business. At governmental level, there was a significant shift in status of the CCs with the sector occupying an important position in National development. The adoption of the Integrated Results Based Management system followed by Programme Based Management System birthed a holistic results-based approach in conducting government business inclusive of the CCIs sector. As a result, a national strategy for the development of CCIs sector was adopted..

The strategy formulation took a multi-stakeholder approach that saw government line Ministries, quasi government organisations, local authorities, civil society, the academia and arts organisations/associations contributing to this strategy from formulation, drafting and validation processes. The revamped National Arts, Culture and Heritage Policy was adopted and launched by the country's President.This demonstrates the importance with which government places on the development of CCIs sector. This was a first ever interaction where the State President (including his key Ministers of Finance and economic Planning, Home Affairs,Industry and Commerce,Tourism and Environment, Women's Affairs, Information and Broadcasting Services as well as Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation) interfaced with the CCIs Representatives drawn nationally in a deliberate process of ensuring that the highest authority in the land and his lieutenants appreciate the sector's significance to national dialogue for economic development. That interaction enabled the President to hear first-hand from the sector, its pertinent issues affecting it and the possible solutions that the sector proffered to remedy them. That interactive engagement indelibly gave recognition to the CCIs sector and its value chains, firmly placing the the sector onto government's radar of priority deserving of attention as a critical economic development player.

The last four years also witnessed the Parliament of Zimbabwe being seized with reviewing and formulating policies that promote as well as impinged positively on the diversity of cultural expressions. Of particular importance was the repealing of two pieces of legislation, the Public Order and Security Act as well as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. This, in one way or the another asphyxiated media diversity, and by extension, the diversity of cultural expressions. Journalists and the media fraternity can now gather information, including that on arts and culture, without impediments or fear of reprisals. In essence, the repealing of these laws enable the free flow of information including accessing to artistic and cultural data that stakeholders in the CCIs may not,ordinarilly be willing to avail.

May 2017 witnessed Zimbabwe's implementation of Culture for Development Indicators (CDIS) in recognition of the enabling and driving role of culture in sustainable development. This has enabled the country to measure the impact of CCIs to economic development. In addition, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (a state-owned entity) adopted a Language Policy resulting in the use of all sixteen languages designated as official in the Zimbabwean Constitution (including Sign Language) as official means of communication. This boosted the diversity of cultural expressions. Measures were also put in place to effectively promote culturally-driven programmes and activities hence the birth of flagship programmes in cultural tourism - the Harare International Carnival and the Community Based Tourism Enterprises, whose backbone remain rooted in the arts and culture. All these polices and measures were crafted and implemented to solidify the domestication and implementation of the Convention's tenets. Zimbabwe, through the effort of the National Arts Council is in the middle of implementing a project funded by the European Union with UNESCO facilitation called the "Strategy for the Sustainable Development of Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) in Zimbabwe" which focuses on the Music sector. The project's objectives also feed into the diversity of cultural expressions.

Other stakeholders like the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, arts and culture promoters, corporate organisations and civil society institutions enjoyed active support and facilitation of their programs by government over the last four years as they played their respective roles in the implementation of the 2005 Convention. Civil society organisations, in particular, played a pivotal role in the establishment of creative communities or hubs which have registered their presence both virtually and physically. Government and its agencies have linked them to local authorities and other stakeholders. Government's major priority in last four years was therefore facilitating and ensuring that all stakeholders were seized and involved in the implementation of the Convention by either partnering them in refurbishing existing and or developing new CCIs infrastructure or getting the sector to shape and inform enabling frameworks for the sector to flourish.

As a direct result of the implementation of the Convention and its attendant production of mandatory Quadrennial Periodic Reports, Zimbabwe built capacities within individuals who are now conversant with the Convention's key tenets. Some hail from key national institutions, notably National Arts Council of Zimbabwe, the National Gallery of Zimbabwe (NGZ) and Government sister Ministries that deal with cultural expressions and gender. These individuals by virtue of being pivotal in producing Zimbabwe's inaugural Quadrennial Periodic Report of 2016 and the current one, have developed the requisite skills relating to the Convention's monitoring and evaluation with specific reference to the eleven monitoring areas. Other such skills are cultural information/data gathering, processing (interpretation) as well as strategic planning. In addition, the NACZ and the NGZ committed tangible support by offering their personnel and office facilities within their respective premises for QPR National Team members to use, particularly the drafting team. This ensured smooth flow of the report's production processes.

Building on the experiences gained in both the implementation and production of the inaugural report of 2016, Zimbabwe is now poised to up-scale the implementation of the Convention in the ensuing four years. The timely recognition and acceptance of Cultural and Creative Industries as fundamental pillars of the Zimbabwean economy, at the highest level in government, and the official launching of the National Arts, Culture and Heritage Policy, the robust involvement of civil society and CCIs players in the crafting of a CCIs strategy coupled with repealing of inhibiting laws will remain pivotal in the implementation of the Convention. Civil society organisations will continue to play an active role in policing government in its continued people-centric and transparent promotion and protection of the diversity of cultural expressions.