Gov’t unveils Report on Post-Covid State of Creative Industry

The Government of Uganda, through the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD), in partnership with UNESCO has released two critical reports on the state of the creative industry post COVID-19 pandemic.

The reports released on Thursday, January 25, 2024, highlight the dire socio-economic status of artistes, digital skills gaps amongst industry players and entail recommendations for new policies.

Betty Among, Minister for Gender, Labour and Social Development, said the reports would guide the next course of action in the government’s recovery programme for the creative sector post the global pandemic.

“We will continue to work with UNESCO and other international partners as well as local stakeholders to implement the recommendations of these reports in line with global and national development goals,” she said.

Ludy Ogana, UNESCO’s regional Programme Officer for East Africa, said the reports will hopefully aid the government in addressing some of the gaps in the entertainment industry.

She commended the role played by the two national experts, Polly Kamukama, a lecturer of performing arts at Makerere University, and Amos Tindyebwa, a cultural policy analyst. who were hired by UNESCO to spearhead the two projects.

Uganda in 2015 ratified the 2005 UNESCO Convention, the foremost international statute on cultural governance, and the backdrop for the two projects, thereby binding itself to the statute’s provisions including an obligation for member states to uphold freedom of expression and economic rights for artistes.

Government has in the past passed laws and implemented incentives to support the local arts industry. Recent efforts include a review of the 2006 national cultural policy, the launch of a film fund and establishment of the National Cultural Forum, an umbrella body for artists.

The government has also regularly partnered with UNESCO over the years to implement development projects for the local cultural sector, including a recent joint project with the European Union that proposed a new policy framework for the film industry.