By Yunus S Saliu
As the coronavirus pandemic continue to hamper the progress of our daily life both formal and informal activities and events which the Gambian cultural sector is not exempted, the Gambian artists and cultural players will Wednesday and Thursday join other counterparts to participate in the UNESCO Resiliart Teleconference.
In early March 2020 The Gambia government declared a State of Health Emergency in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has hit The Gambia just as it has hit the rest of the world.
The culture and creative industries in enormous ways have been negatively affected by this state of affairs. The closing of performances, venues, galleries, studios, museums and bookshops meant a loss of revenue to the sector including our UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The National Centre for Arts Council (NCAC) has therefore decided to join UNESCO in its Resiliart project.
However, Resiliart is a UNESCO online effort to foster dialogue among artists, arts administrators, policymakers and also UNESCO itself to assess and chart the way forward during and after Covid-19.
Speaking on the teleconference, Hassoum Ceesay, Director General of National Centre for Arts and Culture disclosed that “Wednesday/Thursday, 6th and 7th May respectively, NCAC will use UNESCO Resiliart platform to continue to create hope and resilience among artists through online discussion in the safety of their homes.”
He explained that Wednesday, Jaliba Kuyateh – Musician; Tijan Secka – filmmaker; Rohey Camara – actress, Dr Cherno Omar Barry – writer, Hassoum Ceesay – NCAC including the Honourable Minister of Tourism and Culture will front the online discussion.
And Thursday; Ndey Fatou Jabang – dancer; Baaba Silah – writer; Oko Drammeh – music promoter; Baboucarr Cham – cultural promoter and radio personality and manager; Lamin Jarju – UNESCO NATCOM will be on the platform.
DG Ceesay added that Head of the UNESCO Office for West and Central Africa based in Dakar will also join in the discussions online which will lasts from 12pm to 14:30pm each day.
However, the online meetings will enable Gambian artists voice to be heard, and will clear the way for a roadmap for an intervention to support the arts and culture sector by government and UNESCO and other partners as part of Covid-19 social response.
Meanwhile, the public is invited to follow up the discussion via facebook and as well participate.
