African Union Agenda 2063 Can Be Achieved If…..- Don—Prof. Emmanuel Dandaura, Executive Director, Institute of Strategic and Development Communication, has called on Africans to adopt innovative use of technologies in Africa’s creative sector.
Dandaura made the call during the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC)’s 2021 International Conference held in Lagos.
The theme of the conference was, “The Renaissance of African Culture: Music, Crafts, Language, Literature and Folklore”.
He said if the African Union’s agenda for 2063 must be achieved, Africa’s creative sector must put into good use innovative technologies.
He noted that some of the transformational goals of the agenda was improvement of living standard, empowering women, youths and children, integrating Africa and more.
He said the African Union’s agenda for 2063, rooted in pan-Africanism and African renaissance, could be achieved when African culture reflects in every human endeavour in Africa.
“African cultural and creative industry sector is underperforming in spite of its comparative advantage and huge potential.
” Culture is central to the achievement of the African Union’s agenda for 2063, for this to be actualised, Africans must facilitate the creation, adoption and implementation of participatory and inclusive legislative framework and national cultural governance system.
” Africans must increase budget and resources allocated by member states to cultural and creative Industries by 5 per cent before 2031.
“Africans need to adopt innovative use of technologies in Africa creative sector by 5 per cent within the first 10 years of implementation of the agenda plan.
“There should also be increased copyright compliance in member states, we should encourage payment of royalties for every musical content used across the globe,” he said.
Dandaura said that there should also be support for cultural heritage, creative arts and businesses which promotes the ideals and values of pan-Africanism and cultural renaissance.
Also, Prof. Akin Alao of History and International Studies Department, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, said that to achieve the AU’s agenda, Africans must develop counter narrative to entrench western definition of development and progress.
He said that there should be an incorporation of intrinsic African cultural values into Africa’s development agenda.
“This should be done such that in the next 10 years, all school age African children will be honest, diligent, forthright and patriotic,” he said. (NAN)
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