THE NIGERIAN ARTS AND CULTURE DIRECTORY
by Kayode Ajayi-Smith
The Nigerian Arts and Culture Directory (NACD)Project is an initiative of the Presidency in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Culture and Tourism and National Orientation; with the support of the National Gallery of Art, the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on the Millennium Development Goals, UNESCO-Nigeria, NATCOM-UNESCO and the Policy Analysis and Research Project (PARP) of the National Assembly.
MISSION / VISION
Creatively working towards preserving and promoting Nigeria's rich Art, Culture and Tourism Potentials and providing the enabling environment for attracting substantial local and foreign investment to the sector. PROJECT STRUCTURE
The NACD Project is structured in line with Government's policy thrust of Private /Public sector Partnership funding initiative and has a multi-sectoral Central Working Committee (CWC), with membership drawn from its collaborating agencies, stakeholders, the private sector, the thirty-six States of the Federation and the FCT. The CWC has as its Chairman, Mr. Soni Irabor; the veteran broadcaster and art enthusiast while Mr. Joe Musa, Director-General; National Gallery of Art is its National Coordinator. A Project Director, Prince Chinedu Obi oversees the day-to-day running of the NACD Project. The major role of the Central Working Committee is to mobilize stakeholders and funding agencies as well as provide the technical expertise needed to realize the Project's objectives.
SCOPE AND MANDATE
The Directory being the first of its kind is anticipated to be a repository of all Nigerian works of art, artists; writers; musicians; art centers; tourist sites; museums and monuments; festivals; film; indigenous games; fashion; languages; cuisines and culinary institutions; practitioners and stakeholders of arts, culture and tourism in Nigeria.
The Directory will be produced in three formats namely:- Internet
- CD
ECONOMIC / INVESTMENT POTENTIALS
The economic and investment potentials of the arts, culture and tourism sector caught stakeholders attention when an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report in 1999 revealed that in terms of global export earnings in 1998, international culture and tourism topped the table with an income of US$ 504 Billion. Petroleum and allied products generated US$ 435Billion, and ranked fifth behind automobile, chemicals and food.Interestingly, latest World Tourism Organization reports indicate that in the past three years, global tourism has continued to record higher growth rates. There are indications that 2006 performance exceeded the projected growth with about 842 million international arrivals with Africa maintaining its lead as the fastest growing tourist destination. The report puts growth rate for 2006 at 4.5%, a figure far exceeding the long-term projection of 4.1%.
In the same vein, the NACD Project intends to create the enabling environment for the diversification of Nigeria's economic base from oil and gas, by strengthening our local cultural industry in the short run, and in the long run, bringing about its meaningful contribution towards the elimination of poverty, in addition to generating foreign exchange, greater employment opportunities and sustainable socio-economic development of Nigeria. These potentials have hitherto remained largely underutilized. The Directory will be a platform to expose the great wealth of the sector to the world.
PARTNERSHIP/SPONSORSHIP
Partnership is sought from committed public and private sector to complement the government's effort towards making the arts and culture sub-sector vibrant. Through this partnership, Nigerian Arts and Culture Directory Project will generate innovative and constructive programmes as models among different levels of government, the organized private and informal sectors, foreign investors, donor groups and NGOs that can be institutionalized and promoted in the provision of infrastructure, physical, human and sectoral development in Nigeria.
Artists wishing to showcase their works in the three-format Directory should follow these outlined procedures: Visit the NACD website and complete the online Registration form or print out the completed form and return to the Project Director, Nigerian Arts and Culture Directory Project. .