Quack Quack Duck Project boosts young creatives

Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter

THE Quack Quack Duck Project, a 26-part children’s TV Series designed to develop the skills of creativity, performance, originality and cultural awareness among its target audience of junior school children, has opened new doors for Bulawayo’s crop of emerging creatives, who are getting trained by industry gurus while getting work as writers, animators, video editors and actors.

The Quack Quack Duck Project is designed to encourage, support and complement the current Zimbabwe Primary School Syllabuses of Heritage Studies and VPA (Visual and Performing Arts) as a learning resource in the classroom and at home.

The project, which is meant to equip as many as 50 people by the end of August next year, is the brainchild of Chaftop Animation Studio with funding from the Sounds Connect Fund.

Sounds Connect Fund is administered by the Music in Africa Foundation and is funding arts projects across the Sadc region to increase capacity and sustainability of creative and cultural industries.

The trainee scriptwriters for the project are being mentored by award winning playwright and director Raisedon Baya while The Animators are being trained by seasoned illustrator/animator Mhle Nzima.

In an interview, project director Decent Ngwenya said the project would give the young creatives an advantage on the international scene, while locally, their education would help complement Government’s education provision efforts.

“The objective is that by the end August 2023 at least 50 youths would have acquired relevant technical skills in all areas of Animation Production while Over 1,8m young learners (7-12-year-olds) will have free access to an Animated Learning Aid that will encourage cultural, visual literacy and performing arts skills and competencies.

“Zimbabwe currently has very few qualified and experienced animators and producers of Animated Content.

This project will offer a unique opportunity for young and upcoming animators and storytellers to work in a professional environment and produce animated content that can compete globally while at the same time complementing State efforts to encourage cultural, visual literacy and performing arts in primary schools through its innovative content,” he said.