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

PART 3. CREATIVE INDUSTRIES POLICY REVIEW 39
The use of mobile phones in Africa is expanding at an extraordinary growth rate according to a recent
special report on telecommunications in Africa. 98 There are more mobile phones being used than there
are fixed lines. Just as internet use is increasingly being combined with telephony in developed
countries, it is seems reasonable to assume that Internet access through telephones may have an
important future in Africa.
Even though Internet access in Mozambique, at this point in time, may not be significant, it will
certainly continue to grow rapidly, as mentioned above. For the time being, radio remains the prime
source of information for the majority of the Mozambican population.
Action: With regard to medium-term strategies, it is clear that creative content for the Internet, which
is of interest to Mozambicans and Africans, should be a priority. Therefore digital content and design
have a potential market in the growing number of users. This is linked with the promotion and
development of creative content, which is at the basis of the film, audio-visual and new media areas of
the creative sectors.
It is important to align the policies already identified in the fields of science, technology and
innovation, particularly the strategic objectives that include the promotion of the use of ICT, as well as
the promotion of grass-roots innovation and the use of science- and technology-based approaches by
poor and disadvantaged communities, 99 in the context of a overall strategy to foster the creative
economy in Mozambique.
3.10 EDUCATION AND TRAINING
The government itself has pointed out that the current situation in terms of arts education and training
for professionals working in the cultural sectors does not meet the current needs of the country. 100
In terms of higher education, there is a School of Communication and Arts at the Eduardo Mondlane
University (UEM), which provides courses for music and theatre. The UEM also has a Faculty of
Architecture and Planning. There is some training for fine arts teachers in drawing at the UEM and
there is also a Pedagogic University of Mozambique.
At secondary education level there is the Escola Nacional de Artes Visuais, the Escola Nacional da
Musica and the Escola Nacional de Dansa. Photography is taught at the Centro de Formaçâo
Fotografica in Maputo.
While its vocation is not training, AMOCINE does one or two short workshops per year, on the film
and media sector, usually initiated by donor partners.
The Instituto Superior de Ciencias e Tecnologia de Moçambique (ISCTEM), a private higher
education institution has just announced that, in partnership with the Universidade Nova de Lisboa,
they will launch a two-year Masters programme in Communication and Cultural Management.
The Instituto Superior de Artes e Cultura (ISAC), was inaugurated by the Minister of Culture in
September 2009 in Maputo. It is designed to provide higher level (graduate) education in the arts and
culture. On the one hand, its aim is to train high-level creators and on the other hand, to provide
training on cultural and arts management. The institute has started to offer both theoretical and
practical education in arts and design. In its initial phase it will cover a limited number of sectors,
namely the visual arts (painting and sculpture) and design (product design, fashion design and visual
communication). As the institute grows, it plans to expand the number of creative sectors on which it
will provide education. 101 The ISAC set up curricula that are compatible with the Bologna
98 Ford (2008): 34.
99 As listed in the Mozambique Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy prepared by the Ministry of
Science and Technology and approved by the Council of Ministers in June 2006.
100 República de Moçambique, Ministério da Educação e Cultura (2008): 1, “Fundamentação”
101 MEC, Maputo, 3 September 2008.