Endowed with 26 million euros, a new decentralized mechanism contributes to the multiplication of financing opportunities and to a more balanced distribution of financial aid for culture, within the ACP regions.
The ACP-EU Culture Program is a joint initiative of the European Union (EU) and the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (Oeacp). The health crisis did not prevent him from keeping the promises made at the end of 2019.
Namely to finance a new regional mechanism to strengthen the competitiveness of cultural and creative industries in ACP countries. Endowed in December 2020 with an envelope of 26 million euros, this decentralized mechanism contributes to the multiplication of funding opportunities and to a more balanced distribution of financial assistance between the regions.
This action prefigures the installation of regional “counters”, one per ACP region, which will be responsible for facilitating the collection of income in the cultural and creative sectors. These structures will facilitate job creation as well as better accessibility, recognition and promotion of artists and their works, including internationally.
Once a year, these regional counters will meet the needs of cultural professionals, in a targeted manner, by publishing calls for projects. A support and assistance system will ensure the success of their projects.
According to its promoters, this decentralized mechanism will promote a better distribution of financial support between the six ACP regions, the multiplication of financing opportunities for cultural operators, better structuring of cultural sectors at regional level and greater proximity to operators in the field. .
For example, West Africa receives a grant of 6.2 million euros, managed in part by the Kôre cultural center in Mali. Central Africa is receiving 4.2 million euros, which will go notably to the National Institute of the Arts of the DR Congo, as well as to the office of the Community of Central African States in Gabon.
A new training platform!
Over the past year, around 1.8 million euros have been granted to Southern countries by the ACP-EU Culture program, in the field of audiovisual co-production.
These sums have supported some fifty series, documentaries and cinematographic fiction projects. They came, through three specific funds, in addition to financing granted by existing co-production funds.
This first mechanism granted aid for a total amount of 5.85 million euros which reinforces the financial support of the OIF (International Organization of La Francophonie) and its partner the Support Fund for the Film Industry of Côte d’Ivoire (Fonsic), in particular.
During the first quarter of 2021, a final call for proposals amounting to 4.15 million euros will allow the selection of new audiovisual production funds active in ACP countries, which will complete the support mechanism already initiated.
Works of fiction such as President Baba, by Chloé Aïcha Boro, Katanga Roi Soleil, by Dani Kouyate (Burkina Faso) have benefited from this support. As well as documentaries co-produced by Mali, Togo, the Central African Republic, etc.
In addition, four French companies have joined forces to launch a training platform in Africa, reveals the Ecofin agency. The project aims to offer training in hybrid mode in the professions of the cultural and creative industries, in particular in cultural entrepreneurship and in the audiovisual sector.
The project partners are Teach on Mars, a digital training platform for companies, Summview, a platform specializing in the development of mobile applications and services, TV streaming transport and hosting.
As well as WebForce3, a network of schools of the social and solidarity economy in France and abroad which offers short and intensive training in digital professions, and LAFAAAC which publishes and produces mixed training courses in the fields of Culture.
In its deployment, the platform will be tested as part of a pilot in Nigeria. Subsequently, the project will be rolled out across Africa and other developing countries. It provides for the introduction of new training themes in the fields of agriculture, health, digital technology and tourism.
According to the consortium, this platform has a dual objective: to promote the employability of young people and to promote French expertise in training in Africa.
Reference: http://www.acp-ue-culture.eu/
