UNESCCO supports strengthening the creative sector in Ethiopian

The UNESCO Addis Ababa Liaison Office and the Ministry of Cultural and Sport in collaboration with Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) organized a workshop for regional culture offices and civil society representatives on the draft Ethiopian culture and art council document on 20 and 21 May 2022 at Bishoftu, Ethiopia. The workshop was attended by 30 participants out of which nine were women.

At the event, Mr. Teferi Teklu, the Directorate Director of Cultural Industry Development, delivered his welcoming message to participants on behalf of H.E Nefisa Al-Mehadi, the State Minister of Art and Creative Industry, and his directorate. In his speech, he stated that the formation of a culture and arts council will be critical in order to fully utilize all of the sector’s advantages. This council is going to strengthen public and stakeholders’ participation and establish collaborative work procedures for the preservation, development, and promotion of Ethiopian culture and art resources to make them contribute to the overall development of the country.

In his welcoming remarks, Mr. Getu Assefa, UNESCO Addis Ababa National Culture Officer, expressed his delight in working with the Ministry in this regard, because one of the goals of the UNESCO culture department is to ensure the sustainable development of nations by reshaping and addressing their culture as a global public good.

The workshop focused on the importance of the formation of the Art Council at the national level as well as in the regional states context as presented by Mr. Teferi Teklu, director of Cultural Industry Development at the ministry, while the legal and institutional frameworks presented by Mr. Belachew Driba, the ministry’s legal department head.

Mr. Getu Assefa, expressed his gratitude to the Government of Sweden and SIDA for the partnership and funding of this capacity-building project, which enabled the creative sector to be more functional than before