the launch of the Community Arts Centre (CAC) Awards
6 July 2007
MEC W Thusi
Councillors from the Ethekwini
Arts practitioners
Art Centre managers
Community at large
Background
* Origin of CACs, family units, skills e.g. weaving, passed on from
generation to generation.
* CACs set up by the British in the 1950s to teach the natives European arts
and craft
* CACs during the apartheid era, centres for political and cultural
expression
* CACs as space for young people (many displaced since 1976)
Purpose
* After 1994, the purpose of these CACs has been misconstrued or
misdirected.
* With developments that have taken place since 1994, we need to re-focus and
direct the work of CACs.
* CACs should work towards same goals of a united, non-racial, non-sexist,
democratic and peaceful country.
* This is not possible if there is hunger, poverty, unemployment and diseases
of poverty.
* CACs are well located to provide training to equip communities to be able to
respond to the challenges.
* CACs serve as resource and information centres.
The role of the community
* CACs are the responsibility of the community and should be owned by the
community.
* CACs must be located within a community to be accessible to the
community.
* CACs must be community driven/people cantered.
* CACs must address the needs of a particular community.
* It is not government that must identify the need; it is the community that
must identify its needs and therefore the need to establish a CAC.
* At imbizo or Izimbizo, communities raise the very same issue of venue or
facilities where they can meet to do craft and other creative work, but
government is not responding appropriately of quickly enough.
Challenges
* Many CACs where established with adequate consultation with communities
for which they were intended.
* No proper hand over to communities was done.
* The facilities are not suitable for the kind of programmes which are to be
conducted at CACs (small and inappropriate), e.g. in Mdantsane alone, with a
population of approximately 180 000 there is only one CAC.
* No community-based management structures (governing bodies) were established
to run CACs.
* CACs used as facilities for running projects instead of training
programmes.
* No defined roles for national, provincial and local spheres of government
policies and programmes.
* Forum of CACs or Association has met several times to discuss CAC
policy.
* Cannot formulate policy without being guided by the overarching government
policy and strategic plans which are based on the needs of the people of this
country.
* Since 1955 we have used the Freedom Charter (an expression of the needs and
desires of the people of South Africa) as our guide and developed our
indicators against which we measure progress.
* Appreciate support and guidance received from various countries, especially
the Flemish Government who assisted us with policy development, management
training for CAC managers and capacity building.
* The bottom line, CACs need to recognise the rich cultures, creativity and
talents in the community and seek to articulate and translate into
implementable programmes that will respond to the challenges and needs of the
community.
CACs as centres of excellence and awards
* Many challenges of a developing nation and a developmental state viz.
building and uniting our previously segregated nation; addressing issues of
poverty, unemployment, skills shortage, hunger, diseases, crime, drug and
alcohol abuse, degeneration of the social fabric, etc.
* To achieve all this CACs need to be properly structured and adequately
resourced (not only financially).
* Awards are about excellence or striving for excellence.
* Appropriate timing as we look forward to 2010 Fifa World Cup.
* More training for projects in Quality Assurance, Pricing, Intellectual
Property rights (Copyright, Patents, etc), marketing, entrepreneurship.
Role of stakeholders
* Primary stakeholder is the community (community to determine programme and
governance).
* All three spheres of government must take responsibility, local
municipalities for infrastructure; Provincial and National for
programmes.
* Municipalities to identify suitable facilities and take responsibility for
servicing and maintenance.
* Ward councillors, ward committees and community development workers, to
ensure there is a CAC at least in every ward.
* All spheres should include CACs in the Integrated Development Plans and
budgets, as part of Local Economic Development.
CAC's awards as incentive
* CAC goals, same as government priorities, of halving poverty and
unemployment by 2014 through the medium of Arts, Culture and Heritage.
* ACH is a cross-cutting issue and should be integrated in all our policies and
strategies, e.g. reducing crime, healthy lifestyle, correctional and
rehabilitation services, etc.
* Criteria to be adequately canvassed and understood by all.
Issued by: Department of Arts and Culture
6 August 2007
Source: Department of Arts and Culture (http://www.dac.gov.za)
