•Advisor to the President, Nadege Chouat said they seek a win-win relationship with their African partners.
•UNESCO projects that the African creative sector can generate over five billion dollars.
Image: MELINDA KIRWA
The French government has officially launched the first edition of the Cultural and Creatives Industries forum at the Gaîté Lyrique theatre in Paris, France.
This is in a bid to win over the African continent as they bank on building and fostering relations through the cultural and creative economy.
According to the advisor to the President, Nadege Chouat, the French government is focused on tapping into available opportunities to change the continental perception that already exists, especially in their former colonies.
Chouat said they seek a win-win relationship with their African partners.
“A lot is happening in Africa, and France has very strong ties with the continent,” she said.
“We want to feel the connection and the cultural and creative industries that provide that opportunity. We chose the sector with relative advantage to show Africa in a different way, "Chout added.
She added that President Emmanuel Macron seeks to support this initiative, which was initiated in 2017 by a team that included the CCI Secretary General Elizabeth Gomis, which resulted in the creation of the Africa 2020 season event.
“President Macron support for the CCI forum goes to show that he was to be disruptive in a way that develops more visibility for African creatives by creating conferences that involve them as well as entrepreneurs in this space and different sector players,” she added.
“This is not a forum for heads of state as we are moving away from that. Over 70 French companies will be present, and this is evidence enough that there is a lot of added value in Africa that France can benefit from.”
The Creation Africa Forum is in its first season with a subsequent event taking place in 2025, but this time will be held in Africa.
Image: MELINDA KIRWA
Image: MELINDA KIRWA
The event, according to the French government, is designed as a platform for shaping expertise and showcasing talent.
It is part of an innovative approach that seeks to redefine perspectives and recognise France-Africa relations.
This is a French strategy to choose an unexploited sector with an aim to enhance ties with Africa.
They seek to expand their reach to Anglophone nations through CCIs.
Speaking to African journalists during a media brief, CCI secretary general Elizabeth Gomis said the ongoing event aims to create an army of creatives in Africa and beyond.
“For Africa, there is a missing link and as an African from Guinea Bissau, this is selfish for me and I want to reach out to fill in the blank to my identity,” she said.
Gomis said that she joined President Macron’s team when he needed an advisor and a critic on matters Afro-centric.
“Africa stands to gain a lot from the event through formulation and enhancement of our regional conversations with those in the diaspora,” Gomis said.
Gomis noted that the event was not only a French one but rather a European one, adding that the continent can penetrate to France’s neighbouring countries.
Through the event, Gomis said that she had the chance to shake the frame and open imaginaries for France.
“Right now, we all know that the political situation is not nice, but I am African just like you. At the end of the day, we must speak to each other,” she added.
“This is a way for us to write and rewrite history, and we can also try and be more opportunistic about our existing relationships.”
The event was financed by the French Ministry of culture as well as foreign affairs, numerous sponsors, AFD, Institut Francais, and Business France.
UNESCO projects that the African creative sector can generate over five billion dollars.
The event was derailed by Covid and later took place in 2021.
Dubbed Creation Africa Forum, the event that kicked off on Friday, had 324 creative participants from 34 African countries in attendance.
They came from different CCIs such as E-gaming and audio-visual sectors that include cinemas, films, and series, animation as well as the Extended Reality (XR) scene, i.e., Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR and VR).
The forum is a three-day event that will end on Sunday, October 9, 2023.
A team of 26 Kenyan creatives were invited to pitch and showcase their innovative, culturally creative projects and some of them include BlackRhino VR founder, Brian Afande who created a Kikuyu documentary that will be exhibited at the forum.
Other Kenyans present include HEVA fund and directors from the Kizazi Moto animated series.
The event comes at a time when France is facing strong anti-french protests from three of their former colonies; Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.