Aadel Essaadani (Morocco) was elected chairperson and Korkor Amarteifio (Ghana), deputy chair. Regional members are: Evaristo Madime (Mozambique), George Camille (Seychelles), Mamou Daffe (Mali), Christine Gitau (Kenya), Limam Kane (Mauritania), Pierre Claver Mabiala (Congo) Joseph Mouckala Koumba (Gabon), Zilanie Nyundo (Malawi) with Fidelis Duker (Nigeria) as the Afrifestnet representative.
From 6-9 October, delegates from fifty different countries congregated at Cape Town's City Hall for four days of analysis, performances, networking and debate at the 2013 edition of the African Creative Economy Conference.
Arterial Network, a pan-African civil society network of artists, creative enterprises, cultural NGOs and activists, first launched this conference in Nairobi in 2011, followed by the Dakar edition of 2012. The key aim of the annual event - with more than 300 delegates in attendance this year - is to interrogate the role of the creative and cultural industries in helping meet Africa's large-scale human, social and economic development challenges. The conference featured 32 programmed speakers from the African Union, European Union, UNESCO, UNCTAD, creative entrepreneurs, award-winning editors, think tank directors from China, Chile and elsewhere, international journalists, musicians, playwrights and leading academics.
It is fitting that Essaadani was elected chairperson, as next year's ACE conference will be held in Morocco. A renowned cultural activist, Essaadani is technical director of various festivals, associate director of the Institute for Jobs in the Performing Arts of Morocco and a cultural policy advisor to public and private institutions.
In his closing remarks, he commented: "Arterial Network is a network whose dream (and work) is to invest in our humanity, using arts and culture for a peaceful and prosperous Africa; a continent where Africans are free citizens and masters of their own destinies and where artists create freely their art and participate in the renewal of the continent and in the 'universalization' of African heritage and intelligence.
"I will try to follow the path of Arterial in the next two years, working to strengthen the network of National Chapters, and continue to advocate for cultural policies that strengthen our human, social and economic needs for Africa's development. I will put all of my weight behind the actions and projects of Arterial Network."
