The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development in partnership with United Nations Education, Science Culture Organisation has today unveiled two critical reports on the state of the creative industry post Covid-19 pandemic.
Highlighting the dire socio-economic status of artists, digital skills gaps among industry practitioners and recommendations for new policies, the two reports are a result of two joint projects by the Ministry of Gender and UNESCO which have been running simultaneously over the past year.
The two projects sought to review the current regulation environment for the culture and creative industry, design new policy frameworks and improve skills among audiovisual practitioners and recommendations among other objectives. They also aimed to equip the government and the civil society with necessary tools and information on how to best support the rapidly changing industry in the aftermath of the global pandemic.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony held at Grand Imperial Hotel, the State Minister for Gender Mutuuzo Peace said that the reports would guide the next course of action in the government’s recovery program for the creative sector post the global pandemic.
“We will continue to work with UNESCO and other international partners as well as local stakeholders to implement the recommendations of the reports in line with global and national development goals,” she said.
Uganda in 2013 ratified the 2005 UNESCO Convention, the foremost international statute on cultural governance and the backdrop for the two projects thereby binding itself into the statute’s provisions including an obligation for member states to uphold freedom of expression and economic rights for artists.
Government has in the past passed laws and implemented incentives to support the local arts industry. Recent efforts include a review of the 2006 national cultural policy, the launch of a film fund and establishment of the national cultural forum, an umbrella body for artists. The government has also regularly partnered with UNESCO over the years to implement development projects for the local cultural sector including a recent joint project with the European Union that proposed a new policy framework for the film industry.
The state of Uganda’s cultural industry pales in comparison to the growing global sector statistics which indicate that the industry accounts for more than 30 million jobs globally; employing more people aged 15-29 years than any other sector.
Judy Ogana, UNESCO’s Regional Programme Officer for East Africa, is hopeful that the two reports will go a long way in addressing some of the gaps such as inadequate funding and limited skills amongst the practitioners.
Polly Kamukama, a performing arts lecturer at Makerere University called for reinforcement of awareness on local content consumption through digital platforms. He further called for implementation of activities on digital literacy skills and confidence within the audiovisual industry.
