UNESCO, ILO host workshop on Artistic Freedom and Decent Work

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The UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa, in partnership with the Ministry of Youth, Sports, Arts and Recreation; the International Labour Organisation; and Nhimbe Trust will conduct a workshop on Artistic Freedom and Decent Work on 23 March 2022 in Harare.

 

The workshop aims to create the conditions for the elaboration of a report on artistic freedom in Zimbabwe that may inform future legislative reforms and actions, as well as the implementation of initiatives led by civil society organizations, and other stakeholders to enhance advocacy efforts for the protection and the promotion of artistic freedom.

 

The workshop will examine existing laws, policies and measures that promote, protect and monitor artistic freedom, as well as the challenges and opportunities that countries, in particular Zimbabwe, encounter in designing and implementing them, including those linked to working conditions, and the realization of social and economic rights.

 

The Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation, Hon. Kirsty Coventry is expected to officiate at the event.

 

Through presentations, case studies and group exercises, participants will learn about the implications of limitations to artistic freedom that result in enormous economic, social and cultural losses, including depriving artists and culture professionals of their means of expression and livelihoods and creating unfavourable environments for all those engaged in the cultural and creative industries. Furthermore, they will examine opportunities and experiences carried out by public authorities and civil society in support of artistic freedom.

 

The workshop will also explore the obligations that governments, in close cooperation with civil society, have in terms of reporting on policies and measures taken to promote artistic freedom, in particular in the context of standard-setting instruments such as the UNESCO 2005 Convention and the UNESCO 1980 Recommendation.

 

The workshop is part of the UNESCO Regional Creatives for Development initiative, which is a comprehensive programme that supports the strengthening of the creative sector and the empowerment of artists and cultural professionals in Southern African countries while fostering a paradigm shift in demonstrating how strong and dynamic local cultural and creative industries contribute to sustainable development processes.

 

The Initiative fosters sustainable and inclusive economic and social development and promotes human rights and fundamental freedoms through the strengthening of local cultural and creative industries; the empowerment of artists and cultural professionals; as well as the promotion of artistic freedom and a balanced flow of cultural goods and services in Southern Africa