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Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
Arts and culture are not a priority of the European Union as funding from the bloc is targeted at agriculture and social sectors, EU Delegation Ambassador to Zimbabwe Timo Olkkonen said.
Ambassador Olkkonen was in Bulawayo on a two-day tour of various EU projects and to familiarise himself with the city and region. He was addressing journalists on Wednesday evening at the Centre for Innovation and Technology.
Ambassador Olkkonen said the funding cycle from the EU will end this year before they start another round of funding.
When asked what funding opportunities are there for artistes, Ambassador Olkkonen said the EU bloc was not prioritising culture.
“Culture isn’t one of our priority sectors and as such EU as an institution doesn’t have huge funding for culture,” said Ambassador Olkkonen.
He said this is why there were a few EU funded programmes for cultural exchange in the country.
“There are however certain activities by some organisations which we have supported with very limited funding. The European film Festival that’s both in Harare and Bulawayo this year included programmes that we engaged with the local film industry and artistes. In terms of training and interactive sessions, bringing about expertise from outside and elsewhere in Africa, we were quite happy with what we could do with limited funding,” said Ambassador Olkkonen.
One such effort is the upcoming Film Industry Meet Up to be held at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo on January 31. The EU Film Festival team and locals will discuss the industry in general, cooperation and opportunities for artistes.
Ambassador Olkkonen admitted that support for arts and culture from the EU has not been much.
“The support for arts and culture hasn’t been huge and I must confess. Our member states are doing better in other areas,” he said.
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