The 3rd Pan-African Cultural Congress is being organized under the theme Culture, Societies and Sustainable Development: Culture as a Revitalizing Tool for Development in Our Communities. The Congress will take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 28-30 August 2012 It is intended to offer an opportunity for cultural experts and practitioners to make a strong input on how culture can compliment government efforts in achieving growth and development on the continent. The purpose of the PACC3 is to build upon the thematic areas discussed in the two previous editions (PACC 1, Addis Ababa 2006 and PACC2, Addis Ababa 2009) respectively on the themes "Culture, Integration and African Renaissance" and "Inventory Protection and Promotion of African Cultural Goods".
The specific objectives of the PACC 3 will be the following:
sensitize social, political, economic actors including decision makers on the importance of culture for the sustainable development of the continent;
strengthen the cross cutting nature of culture so that it is made part of the policies of all other sectors;
promote the preservation of positive cultural values while combating harmful ones;
gather inputs and best practices for the formulation and implementation of cultural policies and programmes in Africa;
discuss the role of cultural statistics in the formulation of evidence based cultural policies;
advocate for the potential of culture to be used as a tool for development;
popularize the Plan of Action on Cultural and Creative Industries as a tool for the creative economy and sustainable development;
facilitate the exchange of ideas and experiences among cultural professionals, decision/policy makers and cultural promoters;
maintain and uplift the African consciousness and cultivate the spirit of Pan-Africanism among the young creators and cultural promoters;
organize a thematic exhibition on African shared values and the spirit of Pan-Africanism.
The general theme of the Congress will be discussed in more focused sub-themes which are: i) cultural policies; ii) promoting positive cultural values while combating harmful traditional practices; iii) African culture as a vehicle for development; iv) creative economy and sustainable development; v) cultural statistics: the missing link, and vi) culture as the fourth pillar for sustainable development.
Contact: African Union Commission (AUC), Department of Social Affairs, Dr. Olawale Maiyegun, Director for Social Affairs, e-mail: [email protected] and Ms. Angela Martins, Senior Cultural Officer, e-mail: [email protected]
Text from Culturelink