Arts & Culture important opportunity for achieving Development, AAPI

Arts & Culture important opportunity for achieving Development, AAPI

TWS||Nicholas Waigwa

The African Artistes Peace Initiative (AAPI) has said the transition from Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 must recognize arts and culture as an important opportunity for achieving development.

South Sudanese musicians , Madonita and Silver X joined by children in May 2014, ahead of a peace event in Torit, Eastern Equatoria State

Meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 24^th and 25^th January, AAPI stakeholder representatives emphasized on the need for leveraging on the general appreciation of the Arts to promote development and a culture of peace in Africa.

In their post meeting outcome document circulated by the initiative’s executive coordinator, Ibrahim Ceesay, the AAPI resolved to play a definitive role in the realization of the AU’s “silence Guns by 2020 campaign” and demonstrate how the arts can be applied to achieve important social objectives in the African society.

They have committed to provide a platform for coordinated actions and mass mobilizations of artistes involved in social justice & peace building across Africa and contribute to peace advocacy and education through creative arts.

The Initiative plans to organize “Peace City Africa” in 2016 as a creative initiative in promoting a culture of peace concept and the realization of Africa Union’s silence the guns by 2020 campaign.

“Peace City Africa” will include among other activities a Pan-African Forum on Arts for peace, peace concerts & Arts Exhibition, African Artistes Peace Awards and Cinema for peace festival. AAPI is also looking forward to support the AU’s year of women’s empowerment, unite African Artistes against violence on women and girls, Ebola and climate change.

Meanwhile the AAPI has urged for the recognition of African Artistes as Key players in African Union’s peace and security programs and interventions adding that they should also be allowed to actively participate in election monitoring as elections have proven to be a major source of conflict in the continent.

The Africa Artistes peace initiative whose recent meeting’s theme was “inspire a culture of peace” have proposed for the creation of an “Africa Peace Day” to amplify the AU’s Make Peace Happen Campaign and use of African languages as an innovative tool for popularization of Agenda 2063 and culture of peace in the continent.

TheAfrican Peace Initiative (AAPI)  was founded in may 2014 as a pan-African movement of artistes and peace makers championing a culture of peace and non violence in Africa.