The Regional Center for the Performing Arts in Africa (CERAV / Africa) organized the official launching ceremony of its activities on Monday March 28, 2016.
This launch, which took place on the sidelines of the 18th edition of the National Culture Week, was attended by certain members of the Government, customary, religious, administrative authorities and eminent personalities from the world of culture.
Indeed, this ceremony took place under the high Patronage of His Excellency Mr. Paul Kaba THIEBA, Prime Minister, Head of Government of Burkina Faso. It was also placed under the Sponsorship of PrFiliga Michel SAWADOGO, Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, moreover, President of the National Commission of UNESCO and under the Presidency of Mr. Tahirou BARRY, Minister of Culture, Arts and Tourism.
It was a great moment for Mr. Michel SABA, General Delegate of CERAV / Africa, to carry the missions of his structure as a Category 2 Center placed under the aegis of UNESCO, intervening in the cultural sector and particularly in the field of performing arts including cinema and audiovisual on the scale of the African continent, to the knowledge of the authorities and invited personalities.
He also noted that the Center also has the mission of supporting in Africa the implementation of the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.
CERAV / Africa will also facilitate in Africa the sharing of experience on good practices in the field of living arts and the audiovisual sector and also strengthen cultural cooperation.
For the Minister of Culture, Arts and Tourism, president of the ceremony, “the promotion of the performing arts is of capital importance for Burkina Faso and Africa because to develop sustainably our peoples need to be based on the foundation of a culture which humanizes us, which leads us to lay the foundations of national cohesion and international understanding ”.
As for the sponsor Professor Filiga Michel SAWADOGO, Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation and also President of the National Commission for UNESCO, he urged the technical and financial partners to support the operationalization of CERAV / Africa because according to him "the cultural, intellectual, political, social and diplomatic benefits of the cultural action of the institution will be beneficial for all at the regional level".
To testify to the interest of this Center, we noted the impressive presence of key players in Burkinabè culture such as the Living Human Treasures (THV) of Burkina Faso and an Ivorian delegation accompanied by a troop of traditional animation at this ceremony. This highlights not only the involvement of local actors but also the regional vocation of the Center.
Great moments marked this ceremony. Thus, His Excellency the Prime Minister, patron of this launch, first received gifts from the Ivorian delegation represented by Mr. Fousséni DEMBELE, Chief of Staff of the Minister of Culture and Francophonie of the Republic of Ivory Coast. With the whole delegation accompanying him, His Excellency then proceeded to visit the premises of the Center and finally left a note in the Centre's guestbook.
At the end of these moments, His Excellency Mr. Paul Kaba THIEBA did not fail to reiterate the will of the Government regarding the respect of the agreement signed with UNESCO in Paris in June 2010. He also unequivocally underlined the will of the Government to provide support to CERAV / Africa for the influence of culture at the national and regional level.
At the end of the ceremony, His Excellency expressed himself in these terms: “It is a pleasure to come here, because the CERAV is an institution which was created with the assistance of UNESCO to support the culture. . As the minister said, it brings together several African countries. It’s going to be an opportunity for artists to express themselves. Culture is the foundation on which we build a country. It is important that I come here to inaugurate this Center, which is the first in Africa, in terms of culture. It is my duty to come to thank UNESCO, and especially to encourage young people, to take an interest in culture and to promote it, to take an interest in the culture of others to promote the intermingling of African peoples (...). The state must make its contribution to the functioning of the center. It undertakes to respect its financial commitments to ensure its sustainability. "
