By Frederick Philander
WINDHOEK
He feels humbled and honoured to have been invited to a two-day conference by the International Liaison Committee of Coalition for Cultural Diversity early next month.
This is the view of Vincent Mwemba, the chairperson of the National Arts Council (NAC), when contacted for comment on the invitation extended to him this week to attend the conference on September 10 and 11 in Johannesburg.
The gathering will take place with the financial support of the Commonwealth.
“It is important for the NAC to be recognized on an international level in order for us to promote Namibian arts and culture on a universal level,” said Mwemba, who is of the opinion that his organization depends to a large extent on invitations of this nature.
According to him, the conference affords him a good opportunity to promote the National Arts Council and network with like-minded people from around the world.
“Rest assured, whatever I will learn from this event, will be shared with my fellow board members as well as the Namibian Arts fraternity. After all, that is what the NAC is all about, sharing and disseminating information to and with the Arts fraternity,” he said.
The seminar is organized by the South African Music Rights Organization (SAMRO).
“The conference will bring together people from all cultural sectors such as films, music, live performances, books, television and radio from 12 African Commonwealth countries. The convention’s importance lies in its historic recognition of the distinctive nature of cultural goods and services.
Furthermore, international cooperation to support countries of the developing world in nurturing the emergence of their own cultural industries is a major theme of the convention,” said NAMRO CEO, Nicholas Motsatse, at the invitation to Mwemba, also the secretary-general of the Oruuano Artists Union.
In his opinion, cultural professional organizations will need to have a voice at the seminar.
“The programme will include a discussion of concrete ways in which cultural organizations can engage at national, regional and international levels,” the South African said.