Programme ACP-EU Culture «Towards a viable cultural industry»

Brussels 29 October 2019: The ACP EU CULTURE programme, officially launched in Niamey from the 17th to 20th October at the 5th meeting of ACP Ministers of Culture, has been presented to the delegations, senior officials and Ministers of Culture.

This fourth support programme for the cultural sector, implemented by the Secretariat of the ACP Group of States and funded by the European Union (11th European Development Fund), contributes to address the needs of the cultural and creative sector of the ACP countries and to their social and economic development. It supports access to international and regional markets; the circulation, dissemination and promotion of ACP goods and services; image education; creation and production of high-quality goods and services at competitive cost supported by digital technologies; improving access to finance through innovative mechanisms.

With a budget of € 40 million for the period 2019-2021, the programme aims at encouraging entrepreneurship and the cultural and technological innovation among young people; at increasing the incomes of artists and cultural professionals; and to improve the quality of ACP cultural productions.
Three panels have been organized and introduced by the Assistant Secretary-General of the ACP Secretariat, H.E. Mr. Léonard-Emile OGNIMBA, to cover various priority topics for the cultural and creative sectors in the ACP countries.

Panel 1, « Diversifying income sources to support the development of cultural and creative industries », chaired by H.E. Mr. Assoumana MALAM ISSA, Minister of Cultural Renaissance, Arts and Social Modernization of Niger, presented innovative ways to ensure continuity of funding for culture, the need to widen its modalities through credit, capital investments, Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), peer-to-peer exchange systems, pooling of resources, etc. Two concrete initiatives were presented to illustrate this: « Culture and Creative Industries Financing Initiative – CreatiFI « , financed under the 11th EDF, and the « Afrique Créative » programme financed by the French Development Agency (AFD), which aim to increase access to funding for creative industries and to develop the skills of cultural entrepreneurs.

The development of the digital economy in the ACP countries was also tackled, a new field of opportunity for operators of the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs).

Panel 2 was chaired by Minister H.E. Mr. Almoustapha GARBA Minister of the Environment, Urban Safety and Sustainable Development of Niger. H.E. Mr. Kobebe TAITAI, Minister of Internal Affairs, Department of Cultural Affairs, Kiribati, also did a brief presentation on the inclusion of climatic factors in the Pacific regional strategies.
The theme: « Cultural heritage, creative industries and climate » highlighted and enabled the analysis from different viewpoints of the impacts of the climate change on cultural and natural heritage, to promote the role of traditional culture and know-how in resilience strategies to climate threats and the needs for capacity-building of the ACP States and the cultural operators in order to manage them in an effective and sustainable way.

The Panel 3: « South-South cooperation initiatives: The role of cities and territorial authorities » demonstrated that the intensification of South-South cooperation in the cultural sector is particularly active when it comes to the contribution of cities and territorial authorities.

The panel also examined how communities and local authorities, as well as financial institutions, civil society organisations and development partners are mobilised to define relevant strategies in the field of urban cultural development that contributes to peace, integration and solidarity amongst the ACP Group of States.The example of the « African Capitals of Culture » initiative illustrates an original programme of cooperation and partnerships driven by the organisation « United Cities and Local Governments – Africa (CGLU-Africa).

Contact communication: Technical Assistance Unit, Maryse Henry, phone: +32 (0)497 45 44 40, mh@acp-ue-culture.eu or info@acp-ue-culture.eu