Strengthening the Creative Industries for Development in ... - unctad

2 PART 1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION
As part of the methodology, UNCTAD organized a High-level Policy Dialogue on Creative Industries
in Mozambique, which was held on 29 June 2009 in Maputo. 6 The purpose was to submit the final
draft of this policy-oriented study for discussion and validation by the government and stakeholders. In
order to prepare for the session, UNCTAD worked in close collaboration with the office of the United
Nations Resident Coordinator and the UNESCO office in Maputo as well as in liaison with the
Ministry of Education and Culture. The meeting was opened by the United Nations Resident
Coordinator and chaired by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labour, and included the
participation of key stakeholders from the public and private sectors, in particular practitioners from
the creative industries and representatives from relevant international organizations. UNCTAD made a
comprehensive presentation of the study identifying key issues and proposing a number of policy
actions. Officials from six ministries and all the stakeholders addressed the session and unanimously
recognized the importance and good quality of this study. It was agreed that the chair would lead the
process of official validation of the study and that the UNCTAD secretariat would incorporate all
comments received in order to finalize and publish this study in English and Portuguese. As a followup
to the meeting, a document was signed by the main stakeholders from the government and artistic
community endorsing the study and approving the plan of action jointly prepared by
UNCTAD/ILO/UNESCO. This official signing and validation statements by government officials was
received on 15 October 2009 agreeing to constitute the Creative Economy Inter-Ministerial
Committee, as proposed by UNCTAD.
Figure 2: UNCTAD High-Level Policy Dialogue on Creative Industries and presentation of the
Study "Strengthening the Creative Industries in Mozambique", Maputo, June, 2009
Photo by Carolina Quintana
1.1 COUNTRY INFORMATION
Mozambique currently has a population of about 20.4 million inhabitants and demographic growth
was 2.4 per cent over the 2001–2007 period. 7 Mozambique is situated on the south-east coast of
Africa, on the Indian Ocean. The country shares common borders with Malawi, South Africa, the
United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The territory is subdivided into 10 provinces
and the capital city of Maputo. Approximately 30 per cent of the population live in the urban areas of
Maputo, Beira and Nampula. The country is home to a rich mix of people and cultures, including the
Bantu from Central Africa, Arabs, Indians and Europeans. The Bantu is the predominant ethnic group
made up of a number of different groups and sub-groups. The country has 28 recognized languages
and many dialects, although according to national experts today there is no exact information about the
precise number of languages spoken in the country. 8 Portuguese is the main language of education,
6
See: UNCTAD Creative Programme E-Newsletter no.° 10. Geneva. September 2009.
7
Republic of Mozambique, MEC: 2.
8
See, Desafios na gestão da diversidade do patrimonio linguistico em Moçambique. Paper presented by Dr.
Marcelino Liphola at the II National Conference on Culture, Maputo, May 2009.