The United States’ government recently revealed its willingness to collaborate with the Ministry of Art, Culture and Creative Economy to introduce initiatives aimed at enhancing individual skills in music and television scriptwriting.
The US Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, Lee Satterfield, made this known at a courtesy visit to the Honourable Minister of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, in Abuja.
Satterfield emphasized US government’s commitment to leveraging public diplomacy platforms such as people-to-people diplomacy to bring about positive change and increased opportunities in the music, art, and literary sectors.
He said: “So, in addition to the robust programs we already do in the culture space, we have announced three new initiatives. One is for television production, to bring Nigerian TV production directors to the University of Southern California to work directly with American executive producers and directors, to help them create the shows and to be mentored and use American network to help bolster that sector.
“Secondly, with the Recording Academy, we announced a music program where the Recording Academy will find American mentors who are members of the Recording Academy to bring Africans from the continent. I think five of the participants out of 20 would be Nigerians. And this is to bolster the music industry, not just musicians, but those who want to be in the business. It is exactly what we are talking about, wanting to be in the business so we can pair them with Americans to talk about best practices and how to go into the field of music.”
Adding: “We want to create this ecosystem in the music space with these recording academy members. Secretary Blinken announced that the program will take place in October of this year. So we are excited.”
The Honourable Minister, Musawa, highlighted the importance of collaboration in addressing key issues such as intellectual property, securitization on copyright, infrastructure deficits and the need for industrialization in the sector.
She said: “Infrastructure is key. Part of our road map and strategy is to build the Abuja Creative City, which is going to be a one-stop shop for everything creative. In addition to the creative city, we are willing to work with different governments, organizations and institutions to see how we can bring value both ways and monetize the sector. So in a nutshell, we are looking at three key pillars.; cultural expansion, economic expansion and job creation.
“The fourth is our robust initiative called Destination 2030 which we hope to use to reposition Nigeria on the global stage. We want to get input from you and see how you can help us to invest in this industry, to help Nigeria and these generations through job creation.
“So, the door is opened for business, for discussions, for collaborations and to continue the conversation on how we can also contribute our quota and our content to America”, she said.
