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The new winner of RFI discoveries Award visits UNESCO

The UNESCO Regional office in Dakar is pleased to host on May 9th 2016 the winner of 2015 RFI discoveries Award, Elida Almeida.

The young 22 year old artist from Santiago Island is the second Cape Verdean to win this award. She follows the talented Senegalese singer Mar茅ma, winner of the 2014 RFI discoveries award.

芦 I was born and raised in an area where there is no electricity, even today. Our only entertainment was the battery-powered radio. People are simple, far from globalization. There is no internet, television all this stuff 鈥e had to create things to do!鈥 Says the artist (quote taken from this link: )

Elida began her African tour on April 8th, during which she will travel to 18 cities across the Continent, from Lom茅 to Pointe Noire, Malabo to Dakar. This tour will also be an opportunity for her to visit different UNESCO offices in the Field.

These visits, including to the UNESCO Office in Dakar, occur within the framework of the partnership between UNESCO and RFI for the promotion of young talent. This is particularly pertinent in a West African context where, according to the International Musicians Federation, women amount for less than 30% in the music industry, reflecting a strong gender division in the different West Africans countries in this specific domain.

In this regard, important efforts are being undertaken to encourage artists鈥 mobility at the sub regional and international levels. The importance of encouraging these efforts is reflected in the . Indeed, 鈥淢ember States and Parties to the Convention engage in the implementation of measures and policies for the promotion and the protection of the diversity of cultural expressions. Therefore, they also make the commitment to foster the mobility of artists and professionals of culture. Understanding this aspect of the Convention allows for the effective use of this legal framework to address political and economic barriers that make difficult the mobility of artists and the flow of cultural goods and services鈥 Underlines Mrs Ann Therese Ndong Jatta, Director of the UNESCO Regional office in Dakar.

Within a more general framework related to the implementation of this Convention, Senegal is currently finalizing its 1st periodic report. The report includes, among others subjects, a political overview of the actions undertaken to date in the fields of creativity, cultural industries and cultural expressions at a national level.