‘GOVT COMMITTED TO ARTS’

MBABANE - Calls for prayers in the Eswatini arts industry may be answered! The above statement emanates from Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs Harries ‘Madze’ Bulunga’s deliberation during the first Arts Summit which was hosted by the Eswatini National Council of Arts and Culture (ENCAC) yesterday.

The summit was held at Eswatini Electricity Company Auditorium in Manzini and one of the key speakers was legendary South African jazz artist Don Laka.
The minister said these frameworks should address the significant and rapid changes posed by digital technologies while protecting and promoting the work of artists and cultural professionals in the digital environment.

“In this regard, government is committed to creating an enabling environment within which arts will be promoted as an integral component of our culture,” said Bulunga.

He also said it was a very exciting time for the arts industry in the country as this summit provided stakeholders an opportunity to come together, for the first time in this fashion, to share ideas on how they can take the industry to even greater heights.

“The cultural and creative industries have become a driver and enabler of sustainable development worldwide, generating annual global revenues in billions. It is also estimated that the sector provided nearly 30 million jobs worldwide and employed more people under the age of 29 than any other sector,” he said.

He admitted that through the arts industry, one of the biggest challenges facing Eswatini was that of reducing youth unemployment.

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“We hope that this platform will allow you as stakeholders to come up with ideas and strategies that will help the arts industry alleviate this challenge among others,” he said.

South Africa’s jazz legend Don Laka shared his journey in the arts from when he earned 75 cents to how he is planning on releasing 12 albums in 12 months. Also, the floor was opened for a question and answer session for him to tackle.

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