The Norwegian Embassy gives cultural support in line with the Norwegian Strategy for Culture and Sports Cooperation with Developing Countries, which aims:
- to achieve better framework conditions for cultural participation, production, consumption and conservation through the development of cultural infrastructure
- to strengthen civil society and challenge established truths
- to focus at cultural heritage as a resource for local development and
- cooperation between partners in the cultural sector in Norway and developing countries.
Cultural projects in Tanzania
The Embassy supports three main cultural projects in Tanzania, i.e. Tanzania Culture Trust Fund (Mfuko), the Dhow Countries Music Academy at Zanzibar and the Norway-Tanzania Project. The Embassy also supports some small projects, such as the Sauti za Busara Festival held in Zazibar.
Tanzania Culture Trust Fund (Mfuko) has been supported by the Norwegian Embassy since 1998. Mfuko is a cultural organisation that channels funds into culture-related projects in both Zanzibar and Mainland. The purpose of the cooperation is to promote and support strategic cultural sector projects through the effective use of dialogue, information, capacity development and investment.
A three-year contract with the Dhow Countries Music Academy (DCMA) about institutional support was signed 18 January, 2008. DCMA aims among other things to provide an opportunity for the inhabitants of Zanzibar and the Dhow Region to study music related to their cultural background, with a special emphasis on broadening the educational opportunities for young people, children, women and to thus preserve the rich musical heritage of Zanzibar.
The Embassy also supports a cultural cooperation programme between Taasisi ya Sanaa na Utamaduni Bagamoyo (TaSUBa), the University of Stavanger and Stavanger School of Culture. This project started in 1999 and is called the Norway-Tanzania Project. The aims of the Project are to promote cultural collaboration between Tanzania and Norway and to contribute to transforming TaSUBa into and efficient executive agency.
A visible cultural partner
The Embassy seeks to be an active partner in the cultural sector. 7 September, 2007 the Embassy organised a Norwegian Music and Food Festival to commemorate the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg’s death. The event was organised together with Umoja Cultural Flying Carpet (Umoja). The Embassy and Umoja are planning a similar Festival in September 2008. The up-coming event will be open for the public. In October this year the Embassy will participate at the European Film Festival in Dar es Salaam. The following three Norwegian movies are planned to be shown at the Festival: Mars & Venus, Wintherland and Wolf Summer.
Link: The Norwegian Strategy for Culture and Sports Cooperation with Developing Countries