SADC cultural organisations connect in Johannesburg

Implemented by the Music In Africa Foundation (MIAF) in partnership with Goethe-Institut South Africa, the SCF is a multifaceted initiative aimed at accelerating development and increasing the capacity of the cultural and creative sectors in Southern Africa. The fund provides financial support in the form of different sized grants and a comprehensive capacity-building programme to eligible creative and cultural industry (CCI) organisations.

The five-day workshop is part of the fund’s capacity-building programme designed to support and empower the sub-grantees as they deliver their SCF-funded projects. In November 2021, the MIAF announced the first 11 beneficiaries of the fund, which operate in various fields such as creative content, new media, cultural funding, animation, film production, music education and circus arts.

The workshop brings together 22 delegates from these organisations, which are based in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Lesotho and Malawi. It will cover topics such as asset-based community development, business and financial management, systems thinking for the creative industries, and monitoring and evaluation, among others, all geared towards capacitating delegates as organisational leaders. The delegates will also be afforded the opportunity to engage with various players and organisations in the South African CCI space.

“We are excited to bring together diverse organisations and witness how they connect, share and learn from each other,” SCF regional coordinator Thabiso Mohare said. “Combined with facilitated workshops from professional capacity-development companies, this gathering seeks to ensure that our sub-grantees have all the support they need to successfully implement their projects and to empower them with the skills and knowledge to grow their organisations with sustainability in mind.”

South African consultancy company Roth Communications has curated the workshop to be interactive, engaging and exciting. The workshop will include activities that foster sharing, peer-to-peer learning, team building and networking. Development Focus lead consultant Simbarashe Mudhokwani (Zimbabwe) and his highly experienced team will deliver the monitoring and evaluation part of the workshop.

About the Sound Connects Fund

The Sound Connect Fund is an initiative of the Music In Africa Foundation in partnership with Goethe-Institut South Africa and made possible with funding from the ACP-EU Culture Programme – a project implemented by the Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and funded by the European Union (EU). The Sound Connects Fund is also co-funded by Goethe-Institut South Africa and Siemens Stiftung. 

For more information about the Sound Connects Fund, visit the official website.