By Stephen K. Effah
Saturday, 01 November 2008
The Cultural Initiatives Support Programme (CISP), is to disburse GH¢300,000 as small grant to individuals, associations and organisations engaged in the country’s arts and culture business to undertake activities and projects aimed at enhancing the sector.
This was announced by the Programme Coordinator, Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng, in Accra on Wednesday.
The CISP is a three-year programme prompted by the need for the country to make up for the shortfalls and weaknesses in the implementation of its cultural policy. The two million-euro grant is being provided by the European Union.
The programme in its first phase disbursed GH¢150,000 to 50 individuals and organisations in the sector for various programmes which sought to promote arts and culture as a means to fighting poverty.
With the launch, Mr.Gyan-Apenteng said, individuals and organisations in the sector have up to December 15, to submit proposals for consideration.
He said the grants to be disbursed were meant for activities and projects related to cultural heritage, performing and fine arts, crafts, film and audio-visual art, as well as language and literary arts.
He said the maximum grant to be given an individual, association or organisation under the second phase will be GH¢16,000, an increase over the GH¢5000 given under the first phase.
He said by January next year, all the processing and selection of beneficiaries would have been completed for contracts to be signed before disbursing the funds to them.
On eligibility, he said, the individuals or organisation applying must be recognised as being in the arts and culture field, either by registration with the Registrar General, the Centre for National Culture and District Assemblies among others.
The Coordinator said one of the main objectives of the programme was to create work and wealth in order to fight poverty through the undertaking of creative and artistic endeavours.
He said the first phase of the project was able to bring out the depth of talent and creative aspirations of the country; “but we are also equally aware of the extent to which lack of resources and support have stifled the nurturing of people’s creative talents.
“This is why this programme has come as a godsend for the creative sector and this fact is highlighted by the award of these grants,” he said.
Mr.Gyan-Apenteng said under the first phase, training workshops were organised for administrators of cultural institutions, theatre technicians, journalists reporting on culture, and craftsmen and women to equip them to be more effective.
He said such training workshops would be repeated in the second phase which he said was expected to attract an even bigger number of participants.
The co-ordinator said a monitoring and evaluation system had been put in place under the programme to ensure that the beneficiaries use the grants for its intended purpose and as well to put them on track in their projects.
A representative of the European Commission Delegation in Ghana, Ute Mohring, said the EU acknowledges the fundamental role of culture in societies, noting “Culture is recognised as an important part of EU cooperation with Africa”.
With CISP, she said, the EU intended supporting the National Cultural Strategy of Ghana by funding activities in the areas of human resource development, employment and income generation.
A member of the CISP Steering Committee, Diana Hopeson, described culture as the very fabric of life, hence its development should help the country’s development as well as its people.
She stressed the need to “preserve the country’s rich culture” so that our history will be preserved in that regard and urged all those in the sector to put in their proposal.
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