Engabu Za Tooro attends the 6th IFFCD global meeting on culture in Lome, Togo

Stephen Rwagweri at the global meeting

Engabu Za Tooro attended the just ended global conference on Pan-African perspectives for the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions which was organized by the International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity (IFCCD) in the West African Country of Togo.

The  6th IFCCD Congress which was held on 9^th – 10^th October, 2019 at Hôtel école Lébénin, Lomé, Togo which was attended by hundreds of delegates from across the world aimed at discussing the implementation of the 2005 UNESCO Convention in the African, public policies for culture, civil society participation in public policy development, addressing the major challenges for the diversity of cultural expressions, discussing the challenges of civil society elsewhere in the world in safeguarding and revitalizing culture, discussing the new realities of the globalized market for the dissemination of digital cultural content and the challenges for cultural diversity on the internet and facing the challenges of the future through innovation.

 

Uganda was represented by Engabu Za Tooro Executive Director, Stephen Rwagweri Atwoki who is currently spearheading a two year UNESCO co-funded project aimed at safeguarding and revitalizing the implementation of the documentation and revitalization of Empaako naming rituals and practices among the Banyoro, Batooro, Batuku, Banyabindi & Batagwenda communities of Western Uganda.

Some of the international delegates at the global meeting

Engabu Za Tooro Executive Director, Stephen Rwagweri Atwoki who is also CIOFF Uganda president presented a case for Uganda discussing the protection of diversity of cultural expressions in Uganda to hundreds of international delegates from 78 countries of the world.  

During his presentation Rwagweri highlighted some of the issues affecting the growth of cultural sector in Africa like failure by governments to prioritise culture sector, inadequate funding and manipulation of artists to serve state interests which kills their talents. 

Some of the notable delegates at the 6^th IFCCD global meeting were West African ministers of culture, African Union commission, UNESCO, International Organisation of La Franchophonie and International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity.

The 6^th IFCCD global meeting was supported by the  International Organisation of La Francophonie,  the Union Économique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine (UEMOA), the Ministère de la  Culture et des Communications of the Government of Quebec, the French Coalition for Cultural Diversity, the Togolese Coalition for Cultural Diversity, the Coalition for the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (Canada), the Government of Togo, the Government of Canada, the Délégation générale du Québec à Dakar, the National Commission of the Francophonie in Togo and the Austrian Coalition for Cultural Diversity.