By Jimmy Chazama and Sam Banda Jnr
Festival organisers and partners met in Lilongwe yesterday, when they mapped the future of the industry.
Dubbed Malawi Festival Organisers Workshop, the one-day gathering was a follow-up to a meeting that creatives held with President Lazarus Chakwera in Blantyre last year.
Organised by SKJ Lab in partnership with the Department of Arts in the Ministry of Local Government, Unity and Culture, it was supported by the Malawi Gaming and Lotteries Authority (Magla).
Director of Arts Humphrey Mpondaminga described the workshop as important for the growth of the creative sector.
He said, going forward, they were ready to re-engage festival organisers and event planners in the development of the national arts and culture annual calendar.
“We want to sanitise the sector when it comes to events. We want festival organisers and event planners to stick to the calendar so that we avoid a clash of dates. The calendar is also crucial, in terms of guidance; tourists need to know the events they can attend,” Mpondaminga said.
He dared festival organisers and event planners to up their game so as to produce quality events.
“We also would like to remind festival organisers to follow policy guidelines. We will soon be reaching out to players in the industry and raise awareness on issues related to the National Arts and Heritage Act,” Mpondaminga said.
He said, going forward, organisers of events would be required to obtain a licence before hosting an event and that failure to do that would culminate in fines.
Seasoned promoter Jai Banda, popularly known as Mr Entertainer, who was one of the facilitators, called upon players in the industry to be passionate and avoid “shortcuts” when organising events.
Banda, who shared insights into how he ran events such as Reggae By Foot Fest and Sound and Light, said proper planning was key to success.
The founder of Entertainers Promotions then hailed organisers of the workshop, which run under the theme ‘Harnessing The True Potential of Festivals in Malawi’, for bringing players together.
Renowned poet Q Malewezi, who is special adviser to President Lazarus on creative industries, also commended organisers for giving industry players the platform for discussing pertinent issues.
“The policy frameworks that are there for the creative industry are opening up the space for growth and, so, festivals need not be left behind. We are hoping that we will be having top-notch festivals going forward,” Malewezi said.
The workshop also explored the potential of festivals in boosting tourism as well as promoting and preserving culture.
Participants included those who organise Lake of Stars, Ku Mingoli Bash, UMP Festival, Sand Music and Kweza Arts.
