Erica's Blog

In the meantime our summer holidays have come and gone; new year’s resolutions have been made (and probably broken); the economic crisis continues to persist; the ANC begun year-long celebrations of its centenary; and we all continue to ‘do our thing’... life goes on.

So to get back to my topic… The big question of course is: reducing dependency on what? We don’t experience it in this country in the same way, but on the rest of the continent national government agendas are often shaped by the foreign aid agenda. And this keeps them trapped in a never-ending cycle of dependence and reliance on aid. For artists and arts organisations, the issue of reducing dependency on external support and not being driven by other people’s agendas is a very important first step.

In this country we experience it in a slightly different way, where we have grown to have a demand and expectation that “government will/must provide”. This keeps us in a permanent state of resentment because government will never be able to provide what everyone needs, when they need it. Apart from the fact that resentment is a profoundly unproductive space to be in – do we want to be in a position where we have to rely on someone else to make progress?

Instead one needs to find one’s way into a positive space where one can take ownership of one’s own direction. It’s being comfortable enough in one’s own skin and confident enough in one’s own ability to not only make your own decisions about who, what, how, where you want to go – but give effect to that plan. It’s being able to recognise what support will help you to move forward, and being resourceful enough to activate that which you need – not what someone else thinks you need.

It’s the point at which you move from being a victim of your circumstance to taking charge of shaping your life.

Don’t hold me to this, but I’ve found that usually when you make a choice about something, somehow the right support comes along. Of course it’s way easier said than done. But it’s probably the first and maybe most important first step to sustainability.

Being able to analyse one’s own circumstances; judge with honesty one’s own strength and weaknesses; identify a clear vision of where you would like to be, the steps you need to take to get there, and the level of passion you need to keep that vision alive. Understanding that the path might be full of potholes and you’re going to have to adapt and regroup along the way. Therein lies the root of sustainability.

It’s not at all about being a lone ranger and going it alone. You will always be dependent on something: a market to buy your product, a workforce to help produce it, family and friends to encourage and nurture. It’s your attitude, and how you manage these resources, that make all the difference.

I think we’ve come to equate the idea of sustainability with money. But it’s only one of many conditions required. In our context, I think they are:

1. People – skilled and trained people with access to facilities and resources
2. Resources – material, technology, specialised skill, money
3. Networks – people and businesses that are connected into networks and relationships that provide access, knowledge, information, support and connections into more networks and relationships
4. Audience/market – a community that appreciates and values cultural products and experiences so that they will choose local and engage with it actively
5. Enabling environment – where the physical, social and economic systems work smoothly and support and enable.
6. Maintaining a light footprint on the earth.

This understanding of what sustainability means in our sector is critical to our methodology. We believe the answer to sustainability lies with you. We can ask the right and difficult questions. Pose some of the possible answers. Show some of the paths. But ultimately the decision rests with you because only you know what you want to do; what your vision is; what you are capable of. It is your vision. You need to keep returning to it. I know this frustrates people sometimes – where they have an expectation that we will and must given the answer: what product to make, what market to enter, what price to set. And it’s frustrating when we simply refuse to... so now you know why:

It’s up to you. Africa will rise, when its citizens take charge of their own destiny. Which they are, increasingly, one (heart-connected, passionate, considered) decision at a time.

*Sustainable: “able to be maintained at a certain rate or level” Oxford dictionary

What an inspiring four days. Firstly Nairobi is an amazingly fertile, green and lush place – at times I felt like I was travelling in a dense forest and the big five would emerge before me (so sorry to be playing to stereotypes...). It’s also the wet season and a couple of times the heavens opened up – filling up the very large potholes in the roads (Gautengers should NOT complain!) – and slowing the traffic down to an a-l-m-o-s-t v-i-r-t-u-a-l s-t-a-n-d-s-t-i-l-l. It took me 2 hours to get through 30 km from the airport to my hotel mid Saturday afternoon. Now that’s a traffic jam!

From a purely anecdotal point of view it seems to me that Nairobi is booming. Large numbers of cars on the road aside, the last time I was there (in 2004 to climb Mt Kenya – yes I did!) I don’t recall the huge corporate buildings lining the ‘highway’ from the airport... or the sprawling shopping centres and very lavish restaurants we visited.

Coincidentally, while I was having my own epiphany, the 3 December cover page story of The Economist headlined: “The hopeful continent: Africa Rising” describes how “over the past decade six of the world’s ten fastest-growing countries were African. In eight of the past ten years, Africa has grown faster than East Asia, including Japan ... allowing for the knock-on effect of the northern hemisphere’s slowdown, the IMF expects Africa to grow by 6% this year and nearly 6% in 2012, about the same as Asia.”

Growth drivers are said to be political stability, demands of the resource hungry economies of China and India (“the rate of foreign investment has soared around tenfold in the past decade”); and the spread of technology – an estimated 600million Africans will have cell phones by next year – 10% of these will have smart phones (in South Africa estimates are that by 2016, 80% of cell phone users will be using smart phones – currently only 16%). And of course a rapidly expanding middle class – the fastest growing around the world: “... according to Standard Bank, around 60m Africans have an income of $3,000 a year, and 100m will in 2015”.

This doesn’t mean there still aren’t challenges on the continent. Is the growth linked to jobs; increased incomes; better quality of life; access to housing, basic services, decent health care and education...? But at least the narrative is shifting.

... so much for context... back to the conference where the balance of numbers changes quite dramatically.

UNCTAD’s 2008 Creative Economy report, and an update in 2010, describes how trade in creative goods is growing faster than other areas of country economies. Between 2002-2008 world exports grew by an average of 14% and despite global economic turmoil, indications are that the sector continues to grow. The main traders are to be expected: Italy, France, Germany, USA, Japan, Canada and China. Africa, unfortunately is a microscopic blip in this picture. One of the reasons might be that we are so bad at capturing data that our contribution is not adequately quantified. The other, and probably more likely, is that we are just not competing effectively enough because of systemic problems and historical factors.

So in this light, the Conference was necessary and historic - probably the first conversation in Africa, by Africans, about a Pan-African creative economy.

About 45 of the 52 countries on the continent were there. At some stage I started making a list of all the people I was meeting: Botswana, Cameroon, Cape Verdes, Chad, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Niger, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zimbabwe…

These countries, previously just names on a map or in news stories about rigged elections, war, famine, corruption and revolution, started to take on human form as a person emerged to talk about what they were doing. Artists, administrators, thinkers, dreamers, doers... absolutely passionate about the arts; totally committed to creating opportunities for artists to manifest their talent. Certain in the belief in the transformative power of the arts to influence and shape the nature and quality of our lives and those of our fellow citizens.

Of course there was a lot to discuss and debate. And just because we live on the same continent it does not mean there is consensus, coherence – or even that there should be. But more about that next year… In the meantime, have happy, peaceful and love-filled holidays and we’ll continue this conversation in the February 2012 newsletter.

After a cup of coffee – I’m sure it was the well-brewed kind – and probably a sneaked smoke on the balcony (both since given up) – Mel gave me a tour of my new office. It didn’t take long. It was one of those ‘cubby-hole’ type spaces: narrow and thin – probably 2x3m max (about the size of a stand at Design Indaba). Luckily it had a window –which didn’t open and faced onto an enclosed atrium. It had a desk and a chair (maybe two), a cupboard, computer and telephone.

“Make yourself at home”, she said. “Your email account is set-up. Call me if you need me. I’m off to a Faculty meeting…” And with that she left.¹

I sat staring at the blank face of a computer screen for a good few minutes thinking: “Oh *%$^&. What now…?” Probably the last time that’s happened…

Ever practical, with ‘just do it’ playing in my head, I made a list which went something along the lines of:

1. Set-up Interviews for Communications & Administration Assistant

2. Prepare for Craft Sector meeting on Wednesday

3. Figure out process for Lead Projects

4. Make a list of people to meet

5. Prepare detailed budget

6. Re-read Founding Business Plan (for the 15th time probably)

7. Convene a Steering Committee Meeting

Eish… not even there for half an hour and already there’s a long to-do-list…! Oh wait, number 8. Switch on Computer and check email. Luckily there were none – last time that ever happened!

Two months later Marjorie joined me and I have a very vivid memory of us sitting in my office (a new one now, slightly bigger, but no window) in January 2002 with a Flip Chart planning our strategy for the year… Little did we know that ten years later we’d still be together. Still with a vision. Still with a passion…

Anyway, the point of this very long introduction and short trip down memory lane is that this year we are 10 years old. And we think we should celebrate. Not sure why 10 is more auspicious than 9. It’s probably got something to do with the double digits and that it’s a lovely intersection between the decimal and binary systems... [Oy! A quick Google search on the subject would keep me busy for days… ]

Majorie says I need to do some sexy calculations, like: how many hours in meetings, how many cups of coffee, how many air miles, how much lost sleep, how many people trained, how much Rands generated. So I’m working on that. In the meantime, recession and all, we think we need to have some fun and we’re planning a party for November. If you have any suggestions let me have them … and watch this space.

¹Mel might have a different memory. Used some poetic license. Mel what’s your take? Be gentle… ;-)