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&nbs p; Date: 18/02/05
Source: Department of Arts Culture
Title: Jordan: Parliamentary Media Briefing, February 2005

Parliamentary Media Briefings: Department of Arts Culture, by Minister of Arts and culture, Pallo Jordan

18 February 2005

Introduction
The sign behind us reads: “South Africa belongs to all who live in it” To translate that aspiration into reality requires commitment to its realisation among government, civil society and business. Tackling the challenges of poverty, transformation, nurturing national unity and fostering social cohesion are at the core of government’s programme. As a Department we have devised a number of responses that I’d like to brief the media about today. I’ll begin with our programmes directed at poverty eradication.

Investing in Culture
Investing in Culture is a flagship programme through which we want to facilitate the unemployed’s access to government programmes.

It has sites located in all of the urban and rural nodes in most provinces of our country. Currently these projects are funded in three yearly cycles. The nodes include Alexandra, Mdantsane, Motherwell, OR Tambo region, Ukhahlamba District, Khayelitsha, Mitchell’s Plain, Galeshewe and Kalahari-Kgalagadi. There are others in Inanda, Kwa Mashu, Indonsa, Umkhanyakude in the Lubombo Corridor, Ugu District, Sekhukhune Cross Border District and Thabo Mofutsanyane District (in the Free State). All of these were started in response to demands from the poor living in these areas. They are mediated via the municipalities who also have an oversight role in these projects.

For the last four years the Department of Arts and Culture has recast what used to be a Poverty alleviation programme into Investing in Culture. Out the fourteen projects, which the department has initiated, we are hoping to make a meaningful impact in the targeted areas:
* In Music, 2000 jobs can be created both directly and indirectly through Small Medium Enterprises and Black Economic Empowerment projects;
* Our intervention in Craft and Design will see 4000 jobs being created;
* In Books and Publishing we estimate that 500 jobs will be created;
* In Film and Video 2000 jobs will be created; * In the heritage sector 1000 jobs will be created;
* In the Archives and Libraries division, 200 jobs will be created;
* Through the Arts and Culture in Society directorate, 500 jobs will be created;
* In a programme of Language Development we foresee creating 100 jobs through learnerships; * Within the area of Heraldry we will be creating 200 jobs; and lastly,
* Within the Performing Arts, we anticipate that by boosting our technical services programme to stimulate transformation and facilitate human resource development. 1500 jobs can be created.

We have set ourselves the target of creating 10,000 job opportunities in designated poverty nodes.

The majority of the beneficiaries of these projects will be women and young people, who comprise the majority of the poverty-stricken and unemployed.

We have committed R249 million, which will be spent over the next three years, 2004/05 through 2006/07, towards these projects. Though these funds will be spread over all nine provinces we will focus especially on the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and Limpopo which are amongst our poorest Provinces.

Proposals for Investing in Culture are sourced from the communities and endorsed by the Provincial Departments of Arts and Culture. These do not replace programmes initiated by either the provincial or the local governments. What we try to do is to coordinate our work among three tiers of government, working cooperatively, without compromising the capacity of any of three from taking initiatives.

The focus is on the potential for sustainable economic growth. CREATE SA and other Sector Education Training Authorities (SETAs) will provide the skills training and development programme. There is great potential to create public – private partnerships in the various fields. This even extends to international partnerships in the case of especially films and video production, heritage training and management training.

This Department participates fully in the various bi-national commissions South Africa has established with a number of foreign partners. A delegation from the department has recently returned from a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) meeting that was seized with the issue of Protecting National Cultures. By all accounts they acquitted themselves well.

In the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region we are very active amongst our neighbours as well.

We have signed a number of international agreements, and have established partnerships with a number of Asian and European countries, including India, China, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden and Flanders. Canada and Mexico have been added to that list in the Americas. I expect to sign an MOU with my British counterpart when she visits here in the next few weeks The Department will be registering as a member of the Commonwealth Foundation on behalf of South Africa, which will open up further international opportunities to leverage skills and resources.

A Survey commissioned by the South African Institute of Race Relations revealed the extent to which poverty in our country is racialised. This suggests that the government’s multi-pronged strategies to rebuild South African society are on the right track. During his speech accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in 1961, Chief Albert Luthuli expressed the hope that South Africa might one day teach the world a lesson regarding non-racialism. To the extent that poverty in this country is still racialised, we are still a long way from realising his dream.

Arts and Culture in Society.

As part of the restructuring process in the Department of Arts and Culture, a new chief directorate, “Arts and Culture in Society”, was established in 2003. Its function is to devise suitable strategies that will enable us to use the Arts and Culture for social regeneration by providing support to arts institutions and civil society organisations. “Arts and Culture in Society” involves defining a role for the arts in relation to a range of social challenges. The programmes crafted by this directorate will seek to address issues of social inclusion and integration by removing the disparities in the resourcing of the arts and culture sector. Vulnerable groups like the disabled, youth women and children are among its most important targets.

Social Cohesion and Social Justice
The DAC has commissioned a study to assess the “social health of our nation.” The study will employ a range of indicators that will allow us to continuously monitor the extent of social cohesion we have attained, measure social capital, and whether or not South Africa is achieving social justice. This study is still in its infancy, but it will hopefully be useful as a means of assessing the effectiveness of our transformation agenda. The report should also shed light on the interventions required to increase the levels of social cohesion in society.

At the departmental level these are some of the activities we have engaged in:
* Programmes to encourage the youth to participate in activities that will nurture national identity and national unity. For example on heritage day last year we launched a project in Soweto to promote the use of national symbols. At a primary school in Naledi, a group of Johannesburg artists helped the pupils execute impressive paintings of our flag, national symbols and national awards. Fourteen other schools participated in that activity.

* During the course of this year, the Department of Arts and Culture, in partnership with the Department of Education, will be facilitating a project called “A Flag in Every School”. We hope this will help instil a sense of patriotism and unity amongst the young South Africans. As South Africans we come from a deeply fractured past and as Government we would like to engender a spirit of unity amongst the learners, parents of our diverse communities.

* On International Disability Day, 03 December 2005 we, together with other government departments, will engage in programmes focusing on the disabled physically challenged.

* On 21 March 2005 the Department will launch Arts for Human Rights Project to promote human rights and highlight problems such as xenophobia.

* In April we will be hosting a Children’s Arts Festival providing a platform for young artists and also unveil the artworks repatriated to South Africa through homecoming project.

Arts in Prisons; Crime and Rehabilitation
The programme seeks to facilitate the process of rehabilitation of offenders. The Department is currently running a pilot programme in four prisons together with Department of Correctional Services. There are plans to extend this programme to other sites. Owing to incompatible diaries the Minister of Correctional Services and I have been unable to agree on a date for public launch of this programme.

Arts and Culture and the Youth
Since the arts are a specialised field, we are structuring training which will be in the following areas: management of Playhouses, heritage and heraldry, in film and video, on the technical and management aspects of theatre.

Gender Equity
Government has actively promoted gender equity as one of our constitutional obligations to engender a non-sexist society. The Office on the Status of Women, (charged with the responsibility of promoting gender equity), located in the Presidency has created focal points in the various government structures to evaluate and monitor gender equity. This is one of the Departments that have attained the targets set.

The Department of Arts and Culture will embark on the following programmes:
* Arts and Culture Conference on Gender in August. We will also host an exhibition of art work of women to coincide with women’s month.

* Produce a publication commemorating the contribution of women to the arts. The Chapters will cover music, the visual arts, theatre, the literary arts and heritage.

Film sector
Two weeks ago, two feature films made in South Africa received international recognition. In both cases these are a direct result of Department of Arts and Culture’s and the National Film and Video Foundation’s involvement. We provided the seed capital for these films. Both nominated for the Oscars.

“Yesterday” was funded by various South African bodies including the NFVF. “Hotel Rwanda” is the fruit of a co-production partnership involving South Africa, Italy and United Kingdom. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Cecelia Bobak who has been nominated for an Oscar for set-design for the film “Phantom of the Opera”. We all have our fingers crossed that when that fatal envelop is opened it will carry their names.

Our youthful Film industry is making a very meaningful contribution to wealth creation as an aspect of the Departments Cultural Industries Growth Strategy. It is having a direct impact by stimulating economic activity. Cape Town has become a favourite film-making destination in South Africa. It is also the site of the Sithengi Film and Video Festival and Market. In addition to Sithengi, we now have the Durban Film Festival; the North West Film Festival, the Appollo film festival in Victoria West, the Three Continents Film Festival (specialising in African, South American and Asian movies), the Soweto Film Festival, inaugurated in 2004, and the Encounters Documentary Festival, which alternates between Cape Town and Johannesburg.

On the international stage, South African films have literally been lighting up the international circuit. To name a few of the international festivals where South African films featured: “Yesterday” opened at the Cannes Film Festival last year. It won the Human rights Award at the Venice film festival; the best film award at the Puna Film Festival in India. “The Zulu Love Letter” won the Silver Award at the Carthage Film Festival in Tunisia; “Hotel Rwanda” won the Audience Award for Best Film at the Toronto Film Festival. “Forgiveness” won the Best African Film award at the Sithengi Film Festival. South Africa is the only African country that regularly participates in these prestigious international festivals.

11 feature films produced in South Africa, in association with international partners, went on the international circuit in the course of last year. They include “Drum,” “Sophiatown,” “Story of an African Farm,” “Twist,” “34 Degrees South,” “Max and Mona” and “Red Dust.” I’m told we are doing quite well in Berlin too.

There are promising new developments taking place. Here in Cape Town the Dreamworld Consortium won the bid to construct Film Studios. Construction is scheduled to begin shortly. I spoke at the launch of The Table Mountain Motion Picture Studios, near Milnerton, during the Sithengi Festival here in Cape Town. The Durban Film City is planned for KZN.

Announcements:
South Africa will be hosting the UNESCO World Heritage Commission during July this year. In preparation for that we will also host the Africa Group Meeting (Durban) 14 - 18 March 2005. A Regional Conference on Cultural Diversity is planned for May 2005. As an Arts and Culture sector we also plan to make our distinctive contribution to the 2010 Soccer World Cup and will begin planning towards it within the next few months.

The matter of the dissolution of the Board of the National Arts Council is sub-judice and I will be obliged if we steer clear of it.
Issued by: Ministry of Arts and Culture
18 February 2005

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