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UNESCO organized an online regional debate on 28 July 2020 entitled “ResiliArt|Africa: Status of the Artist in the Africa Region”, which mobilized over 140 national authorities, artists, experts and other cultural stakeholders from the Africa region to focus on the urgent need to develop national legislation for the arts and creativity sector to transition from an informal to a formal sector in line with the UNESCO , the UNESCO , and the African Union .

is a global movement launched by UNESCO in April 2020 that consists of a series of virtual debates with key industry professionals and artists – both renowned and unknown – that raises awareness of the far-reaching impact of the current confinement measures on the culture sector. It aims to support UNESCO Member States in the development of policies and financial mechanisms that can help creative individuals and communities overcome the current crisis. Since its launching, over 120 national debates have been organized around the globe, including over 30 in the Africa region. A common thread throughout all of these debates has been the fragility and unstable status of artists’ income and social protection together with the critical need to develop legislation for stronger rights, fairer remuneration, and copyright reform to protect artists' rights.

The regional ResiliArt debate was opened by Mr. Edouard Matoko, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Priority Africa and External Relations, who highlighted the ravaging consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the cultural sector.

Mr. Matoko welcomed the partnership with the African Union Commission for the organization of the debate and expressed his hope that this ResiliArt|Africa platform encourages policy makers to engage in the formulation of legislation, policies and measures to support and protect the interests of artists in the Africa region.

H.E. Mr. Avinash Teeluck, Minister of Arts and Cultural Heritage of Mauritius gave the keynote address for the debate, and shared the experiences of Mauritius in developing a national legislation in line with the guidance of the UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of the Artist. He explained how Mauritius established a Transversal Inter-Ministerial Task Force and formed focus groups with the participation of artists to address key issues of status, social security, management services, education and training, funding and taxation.

Ms. Angela Martins, Head for Culture, at the African Union Commission presented the guidance for artists and cultural professionals in the AU Agenda 2063 and the Charter for African Cultural Renaissance. She was followed by Mr. Toussaint Tiendrebeogo, Chief of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions Entity and Secretary of the UNESCO 2005 Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, who shed light on the provisions of the with regard to training, social security, employment, income and tax conditions, mobility and freedom of expression.

The debate brought in key figures from the arts, culture and politics across the Africa region. Mr. Brahim El Mazned, a member of the UNESCO Expert Facility and founder of in Morocco shared their views on “Current experiences of artists from the Africa region”. Mr. Hervé Sea, Senior Specialist on Workers Activities the International Labour Organization () in Senegal and Prof. Kimani Njogu, Chair of the Creative Economy Working Group in Kenya highlighted the challenges and opportunities for decent work and productive employment in the culture sector. Three artists shared their perspectives on their status in Africa, including: Ms. Lisa Thelma Sidambe from the in Zimbabwe; and Mr. Daniel Gomes, President of the Association of Music Professions of Senegal ().  Ms. Ojoma Ochai, a member of the 2005 Convention Expert Facility from Nigeria focused her intervention on “Artists in the digital environment: fair remuneration and digital skills”.  Lastly, Ms. Marème Malong, a lawyer and contemporary African art gallery owner from Cameroon, shared her views on “Gender perspectives on artists’ rights.”

For more information:

UNESCO ResiliArt Movement:

UNESCO Recommendation Concerning the Status of Artists