Establishment of the National Arts and Heritage Council of Malawi: Why Government’s robust implementation of the Malawi Cultural Policy will serve a greater national good

 Introduction

Over the years, artists and cultural professionals – professionals affiliated to arts – have lobbied policy initiators and policymakers in Malawi for introduction of robust policy interventions to protect and promote the cultural and creative industries (CCIs) in the country. The National Cultural Policy has presented the artists and their sector – the cultural and creative industry – a great opportunity on this. Unfortunately, perhaps owing to the experiences the sector has gone through during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the impact of the trail of destruction left behind by the 2023 Tropical Cyclone Freddy in the country, most artists have taken their eyes off the National Cultural Policy itself, and instead, have directed the greater part of their attention, energy and concentration to the National Arts and Heritage Council, a body to be established by the National Arts and Heritage Act (of Parliament) as part of the implementation of the National Cultural Policy. In some cases, artists have suggested that the whole reason the Policy was developed was to serve only one rightsholder association, and not all cultural associations in the country. In my opinion, these two issues on the manner we have approached the implementation of the National Cultural Policy have created some form of trepidation on the part of the Establishment. Perhaps they are right to feel threatened, as, at times, language emanating from the CCIs seem to suggest that the National Arts and Heritage Council will be there to serve a purely social welfare object which Government will have to meet or the dogs of war will be unleashed, and the metaphorical Babylon will have to fall. This discussion is an exegesis of the National Cultural Policy, and it seeks to advance that our honourable pursuit of the establishment of the National Arts and Heritage Council should not overlook the question of implementation of the National Cultural Policy itself, for it is in this instrument that the institution of the National Arts and Heritage Council was proposed and coined. The discussion goes further, demonstrating that this mother instrument has numerous other benefits besides. It therefore stresses one important principle of cultural policies, namely collaboration and inclusivity that is born out of honest participation and dialogue to benefit all in the sector. To achieve its goal, the discussion traces the history of the National Cultural Policy in Malawi, and points to areas which have led to the misunderstanding of the concept and its goal. In the end, it gives Government assurance that robust implementation of the National Cultural Policy, including the establishment of the National Arts and Heritage Council promises to serve a greater national good in all matters socio-cultural and economic, benefits Malawi desperately needs today, benefits so immense, Malawi can never do without today.

Caveat emptor: This discussion is undergoing pruning; albeit, one can take home something from this.

Structure of the discussion

After the introduction, a composition of the cultural and creative industries (CCIs), also called the orange economy, in Malawi is presented. It is hoped that knowledge of this composition will help enlighten those yet to appreciate the fact that inclusivity is one of the most important ingredients of any robust cultural policy. In other words, the section will demonstrate that the National Cultural Policy is an instrument for all sectors concerned with art, that is, those in the core art sector and those in all sectors that support art. The section will also define the concepts of cultural and creative industry or, as is known locally in South Korea, “the content industry” (UNESCO, 2021a, p. 3) and of cultural policy. The composition of the CCIs presented, the discussion will then dole out reasons a discussion on the CCIs, sometimes called the cultural and creative sector, is necessary at this hour in Malawi. The reasons will be supported by three legs of justification: the provision in section 34 of the Republic of Malawi Constitution, and other statutes and institutions; the window of opportunity a period like this – one close to important elections – presents; and the socio-cultural and economic benefits the nation can derive from full utilisation of potentials embedded in CCIs in Malawi. The third section delves into the history of the Cultural Policy in the country, and why the nation has failed miserably to make progress on the matter. Lastly, the manner in which the Malawi Cultural Policy should be implemented will be suggested, consequences of any dereliction of duty on this clearly spelt out.

Cultural policy and the composition of the cultural and creative industries in Malawi

Kovaite, Šumakaris and Korsakiene (2022, p. 279) citing Cunningham (2002), Garnham (2005) and Moore (2014) write that the term cultural and creative industries (CCIs) was first mentioned in the fourth decade of the 20th century, that is, in the 1940s. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (2021) define cultural and creative industries as sectors or “industries whose principal purpose is the production or reproduction, promotion, distribution, or commercialization of goods, services, and activities of a cultural, artistic, or heritage value” (p. 8). They exploit through ethical means cultural resources (also called cultural markers), both tangible and intangible, to generate income and value. Thus, cultural economy has two components: (i) the strategic (and therefore sustainable) use of local culture (and resources); and (ii) the pursuit of local participative democracy” (Ray, 2001, p.14). In the words of Keser (2016), “For generating income, generational cultural heritage, cultural and creative industries, sustainable cultural tourism, and cultural infrastructure can be considered strategic tools, especially for developing countries with rich cultural heritage and important labour forces” (p. 42).

Once again, the industries which use this culture, creativity and innovation to produce these goods and services are referred to as the cultural and creative industries (CCIs). Thus, the term cultural and creative industries constitutes ‘culture’ and ‘creativity’ [which UNESCO (2023, p. 2,) describes as “the heartbeat of our societies”] of course, and other elements. “Some scholars suggest that using both sectors in one definition CCIs represents a qualitative augmented industry and a more inclusive concept of economy” (Kovaite, Šumakaris & Korsakiene, 2022, p. 280, citing Chapain & Comunian, 2010; Pratt, 2009). Kovaite, Šumakaris and Korsakiene, citing Li (2020), Rahumli and See-to (2018) and Štreimikienė and Kačerauskas (2020) conclude that creative economy is used as synonym of cultural economy. Solutions for youth employment and World Bank Group (2020, p. 2) citing Ernst & Young (2015) also refer to it as the orange economy, that is, “a range of economic activities in cultural and creative industries where the main objective is the 'production, promotion, distribution or commercialisation of goods, services and activities of content derived from cultural, artistic or heritage origins'.” 

Cultural economy or creative economy therefore uses culture to produce goods and services for consumers, that is, in exchange for money, although some do produce them merely for charity, philanthropy and beauty or purely for human enjoyment. This statement entails that culture, in all its diversity, serves two broad purposes: “as a prerequisite for peace, a source for intellectual, emotional and spiritual well-being and as a resource for socio-economic development and environmental sustainability” (UNESCO, 2011, p. 4). Perhaps this is the reason UNESCO observes that culture serves to enrich humankind and to contribute to achievement of sustainable development goals.

The CCIs also incorporate the various activities involved to produce or generate these goods and services. These CCIs, therefore, “have a significant economic impact, mainly in terms of providing employment and increasing exports” (Keser, 2016, p. 38). In this way, they contribute to cultural economy, a form of economy that thrives on creativity, skill, talent, cultural heritage, knowledge of business and economics, and also on what is referred to as the new knowledge or simply technology. The component of cultural heritage takes on board indigenous knowledge, defined by Emeagwali (2014) as,

the cumulative body of strategies, practices, techniques, tools, intellectual resources, explanations, beliefs, and values accumulated over time in a particular locality, without the interference and impositions of external hegemonic forces. Indigenous Knowledge Systems are not confined to the material sphere, but often interconnect with spiritual and nonmaterial realms of existence” (p. 1).

The Cultural and creative sector therefore comprises musicians and composers, publishers, authors, translators and printers, comedians, editors, producers, designers, illustrators, journalists and broadcasters, archivists and librarians, curators, sculptors, folklorists, performers, and community holders of indigenous knowledge, and all cultural domains or institutions associated with the goods and services they produce or generate, for example, advertising agencies, academic institutions, libraries, architecture, museums and tourism as a sector.

Without proper guidelines based on international norms with a careful consideration of the local setting and practice, humankind will fail to enjoy culture, to utilise it to enrich human enjoyment. Without proper guidelines, CCIs will remain disorganised every time, and helpless in crises, as they will fail to utilise culture for socio-economic development. Without proper standards, regulations and policies, the CCIs will never grow, and one sector will never know how to derive benefit from the other sectors for the symbiotic benefit of all parties.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the only United Nations body mandated to guide nations on how best to utilise culture for peace, security and economic development, uses Conventions, Recommendations, Declarations and Protocols to fulfil this great objective. It therefore sets standards on culture using these instruments to create normalcy or order on how best culture should be utilised for all its voluminous benefits. In this case, the UNESCO is described as a standard-setting institution, and the tools it uses to guide nations on culture are referred to as normative instruments or simply standard-setting instruments on culture.

There are therefore six principal Conventions in the field of culture which countries, for example, Malawi, adopt and tune them for them to become laws in their respective countries. However, laws are generally broad or general. For the reason, at the local, operational level, what the Conventions contain must be utilised so the people and institutions will begin to benefit by them. At this point, a cultural policy is needed to guide and link various sectors and institutions dealing and benefitting from culture for them to contribute to sustainable development. The desired outcome of a cultural policy can be summarised in what the Ministry of Education, Finland (2010) observes: “A strong cultural base in society and favourable conditions for creative workers and producers of cultural services, actively participating citizens, the promotion of wellbeing, and the enhancement of the economic impact of culture” (p. 23).

UNESCO also ensures that it provides suggestions, expertise and guidelines on minimum substantive content and coverage of these cultural policies, that these nations have resources in terms of guidelines when developing these cultural policies for their CCIs and all institutions involved in culture or cultural activities. UNESCO, however, does not impose on any country, as it operates on the principle of collaboration and partnership, respecting the sovereignty of individual nations, aware that contexts differ and that this fact matters a great deal.

These policies become a government document or instrument, since all public policies belong to Government. This is why we have the National Cultural Policy in Malawi which we sometimes refer to as the Malawi Cultural Policy or redundantly, the Malawi National Cultural Policy. In Malawi, the National Cultural Policy adopted by Parliament in 2015 and launched in 2018 for the initial implementation period of five years, proposed the establishment of the National Arts and Heritage Council. Since people cannot just wake up and establish it, the National Cultural Policy proposed a Bill to be passed in Parliament. This Bill is called the National Arts and Heritage Council Bill. Following consultations which started in 2019, the Bill is now at the Ministry of Justice, in what state it is, that I do not know. Since this Council promises so much to the CCIs, it makes sense that the CCIs in Malawi seem to have forgotten the National Cultural Policy itself, and instead, only espouse the National Arts and Heritage Council. Two reasons explain why the focus is now on the National Arts and Heritage Council, namely the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the artists, and the destruction caused by Tropical Cyclone Freddy in 2023 which also affected a lot of artists especially those living in the Southern Region of the Country. Focussing on the Council is not wrong per se, but it would make more sense if it was being mentioned in the context of the total picture to avoid what is referred to as unintended policy consequences.

So far, the idea of a cultural policy has been presented as a document adopted in 2015 whose policy goal is “to preserve, protect and promote Malawian Arts and Culture for national identity, unity in diversity, posterity and sustainable socio-economic development” (Government of Malawi, 2015, p. 9). This is the basic definition of cultural policy; we will get to a robust definition of the same concept soon.

Justification for debate on matters culture and cultural and creative industries

Justification based on statutes and institutions

First, debate on culture and its contribution to peace, security and socio-cultural and economic development for a nation still struggling to find its feet six decades after Independence is healthy. In fact, the whole reason section 34 of the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi was placed in this Supreme Agreement is to serve and defend all itching to contribute to debate, including the form of debate at hand to help promote the spirit of true citizen participation. This section (34, that is) provides as follows: “Every person shall have the right to freedom of opinion, including the right to hold, receive and impart opinions without interference.”

That the discussion is on culture itself is even more important, for the Constitution, on culture and language, in section 26, states: “Every person shall have the right to use the language and to participate in the cultural life of his or her choice.” This provision reflects the spirit of Article 27 of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations Human Right, 1948). The Article states that, “Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.” The 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child also has a number of provisions on culture, for example, Articles 4, 17, 20, 23, 29, 30 and 31.

Honest dialogue on matters culture in Malawi is crucial for peace and security in our time and that of our children. This I say because there are muted sentiments in the country over how some issues involving culture were imposed upon other cultures in what is described as cultural violence, something that seems to conflict the guiding principle of equality of dignity and respect for all cultures as contained in Article 2(3) of the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. Remember that Malawi has seventeen ethnic groups (Mazibuko & Magomelo, 2011) and that one of the five policy outcomes of the Malawi National Cultural Policy is promotion of local languages, folklore and literary arts. Mkandawire (2010) has discussed the question of cultural violence at length, and this discussion will do the reader injustice to repeat them. However, important to note is that honest debate on culture could be helpful to propel the nation to forgive history and learn to embrace what it had imposed on us with a feeling of unity of purpose. This I am saying because I am a firm believer of the five principles of indigenous justice, especially the one that states that “litigation is not always the answer and it should not be the first response to an injustice” (Hendry, J., Tatum, M.L., Jorgensen, M., & Howard-Wagner, D., 2018., p. 2). In other words, sometimes a people can dialogue history and embrace it in the name of peace and unity. This discussion could be a preamble to such honest dialogue in the same sense Africa has reconciled herself to the outcome of the 1884 – 5 Berlin Conference, albeit grudgingly. Africa has painfully embraced the imposition that came with the Scramble for Africa, embracing it as a necessary evil which we must preserve in order to preserve lasting peace and security.

Debate on matters culture helps build a mind of peace, tolerance and security in individuals and among a people. One will appreciate this when one considers the main objective of the intergovernmental body, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, namely,

to contribute to peace and security in the world by promoting collaboration among nations through education, science, culture and communication in order to foster universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and the human rights and fundamental freedoms that are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations.

The National Cultural Policy we are discussing here has its origins in instruments set by UNESCO through, among others, Conventions, Recommendations and Declarations which Silva (2015) describes as “the formal, public and institutional product of a long chain of procedures involving different and complex instances of decision and execution, and constitute only one part of UNESCO´s work” (p. 6). What all this means is that this Policy is not an imposition upon Malawi (as a sovereign nation) by the UNESCO, as this intergovernmental agency operates on principles of collaboration, cooperation and sharing of specialized information. In other words, UNESCO values the fact that policy contexts differ and inputs from those familiar with the environment matter more for evidence-informed policymaking and ownership.

At the continental level, the African Union has put in place the African Union Plan of Action on Cultural and Creative Industries as part of the implementation of the 2006 Charter for African Cultural Renaissance, a successor document to the 1976 Cultural Charter for Africa. Two of the six goals of the Plan are (i) Accelerating the movement of cultural goods, services and people within the continent for economic benefits; and (ii) Leveraging technology in order to develop and enhance the global competitiveness of Africa’s cultural and creative industries. Even at the regional level, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) boasts the 2001 SADC Protocol on Culture, Information and Sport (done in Blantyre on August 14, 2001) with Articles 11 to 16 directly addressing matters of culture, creativity and participation in culture. These issues are important and our Parliament must never slumber when governments the world over are preparing themselves for the cultural revolution. Debate on this will certainly act the nudge to spur the House into action.

Lastly, the fact that culture has not featured prominently in the national development blueprint of the Malawi Vision 2063 requires that we must debate it lest there should be a dead ground making it less and less visible. This is not to say culture has not been featured in Malawi Vision 2063 altogether; it has, but it has been crowded out by other issues. For example, only at one place has it come out clearly, and that is under “Commitment statement by the traditional leaders” who vow as follows:

As Paramount Chiefs and main custodians of culture, we strongly believe that this Vision can effectively be achieved through the preservation, promotion and retention of our cultural values. We shall, therefore, encourage our sons and daughters to patriotically embrace our culture and tradition, especially those values that promote inclusive wealth creation and self-reliance (National Planning Commission, 2020, p. xiii).

Culture has also been mentioned under “tourism” yet it is common knowledge that the tourism sector is only a component of the CCIs since tourism is merely a cultural domain, a related cultural domain. Despite this, a redeeming feature appears in that when one delves into content under enabler 1: “Mindset change”, one realises that what is dubbed “mindset change” is in fact, culture in every sense of the word. Was there a good reason why the issue of culture had to wear “mindset change”? I do not know, but elsewhere such important national documents have glossed over matters of culture, forcing UNESCO (2022) to lament that “only 13% of voluntary national reviews of progress towards the 2030 Agenda acknowledge culture’s contribution to sustainable development” (p. 3).

Justification based on the window of opportunity owing to impending elections

The second reason for this discussion now is that there would never be a better time to introduce into our debate stream a mind-boggling policy issue of this magnitude. Never. The time is now; the time is ripe and we must make the policy hay while this policy sun shines.

How important this time is for debate on culture needs no reminder; the population, pummelled and exhausted, is hobbling to the Polls, when, at least once in every five years, he, the ordinary man on the street is addressed by the names of gods for his priceless vote. Such a time is gold, as, in the face of impending elections, politics tends to take a human face (Haber, 2015). Hoefer (2022), citing Kingdon (1984, as revised in 2010), writes that, at an opportune time like this, policy problems meet policy answers or solutions because the oft-adamant ear of politics borrows the sharp pick of the bat. Put simply, this is the only time politicians genuinely listen to the vote voice of reason, a time to strike, as the iron is now red-hot.

Justification based on the two faces of culture of human enjoyment, and sustainable development

Crises from emerging issues, for example, climate change, conflict, the Covid-19 pandemic, and other mindboggling problems, have brought culture and creativity into a sharper focus. First, people need to connect and reach a consensus on how best to negotiate and anticipate the future for human survival and sustainable development. Culture is a significant element of this equation since “music, art, literature, cinema, dance and many more forms of cultural expression and creativity have the power to heal us, empower us, and drive the momentum we need to overcome the challenges we face” (UNESCO, 2023, p. 3).

The daily enjoyment we derive from culture aside, we are also being called upon, as citizens, to be present at the roll call of honour on the search for an expiry date for Malawi’s perennial and adamant social and economic problems. Writing for the World Bank, Caruso and Cardona Sosa (2022) show that, “in 2019, the poverty rate of the country was 50.7 percent, virtually unchanged from a decade earlier. [They observe further that] (W)ith an average annual population growth of 2.8 percent, the absolute number of poor increased by 2 million over ten years, leaving 9 million people in poverty in 2019” (p. 16). The situation could even be worse today for Malawi, the world’s fourth poorest country. In fact, the World Bank, in April 2023 (see World Bank Poverty and equity brief: Africa, Eastern and Southern: Malawi, April 2023), observed that “the share of people living with less than $2.15.day increased slightly from 70.1 percent to 72 percent between 2019 and 2023.” It went further, saying “the project might increase if climate or external shocks continue.” And increase it did if the impact of Tropical Cyclone Freddy is factored in.

Malawi will hardly achieve sustainable development while the youths have their eyes firmly fixed on work in modern sector jobs. According to ILO school-to-work transition survey country brief for Malawi (2015), “Students in Malawi showed strong preferences for finding future work in modern sector jobs, such as professionals (63.4 per cent) and managers (17.4 per cent)” (International Labour Office, 2015, p. 1). There is a need to spur these young people to venture to engage in the cultural economy as it offers a viable alternative. Thus, there is a need to remind them that culture, innovation and creativity, now acknowledged as driving forces of the new economy, offer that answer through the cultural economy, which, according to UNESCO accounts for 8.2 per cent of the workers on the African Continent (International Labour Organization, 2023).

Apart from the immense benefits culture promises the youths, the sector has also taken on board issues involving women participation in employment or businesses. In fact, it is widely acknowledged that culture and entertainment are major employers of women (48.1%) yet gender equality remains a distant prospect (UNESCO, 2022, p. 5). One key finding in the special edition of the 2005 Convention Global Report based on available sex-disaggregated data and analysis on the gendered nature of employment, relative pay, contractual status and seniority, established that “women in culture and creative sectors continue to fare worse than men” (UNESCO, 2021b, p. 4). Other key findings showed that women are prone to sexual harassment, abuse, bullying and a general lack of safety in cultural and creative workplaces, including in the digital environment; and that the vulnerability increases in times of crisis, for example, Covid-19. Debating this issue will be the first step in putting into practice the need to pay due attention to the special circumstances and needs of women as stipulated in Article 7 of the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. It will also set the scene for a realisation that rights, responsibilities and opportunities are not dependent on whether one was born male or female.

OECD (2021), considering the important role culture plays in the economy today, has entreated policymakers to change the people’s mindset so culture is considered a social and economic investment rather than a cost, to create a conducive environment for creative professionals to secure employment, innovation and business support (p. 2). The OECD further urges policymakers, to among others, “mainstream culture as an integral part of wider policy agendas, such as social cohesion, innovation, health and well-being, the environment and sustainable local development” (p. 2).

Documented evidence supports assertions that nations looking for ways to diversify their economy ought to look to cultural and creative industries for answers. The United Nations, for example, estimates that “the global exports of creative goods represented US$524 million in 2020, while world exports of creative services reached US$1.1 trillion. In addition, UNCTAD estimates that, in 2020, creative goods and services represented 3 and 21 per cent of total merchandise and services exports, respectively” (p. iv).

Justification based on the need to look into welfare of individuals in the CCIs

A recent report by the International Labour Organization which sought, among others, to identify the challenges and opportunities underpinning decent work in the culture and arts sector in Africa, established that,

work in the African cultural and creative economy does not exhibit standard employment relationships. Rather, informality, the absence of standards and norms, the over-representation of microenterprises, insecure forms of employment, precarity and uncertainty characterize the work relationships (International Labour Organization, 2023, p. iii).

What this means is that the sector is disorganised and prone to abuse. One sure way to assert normalcy in the area would come from the robust implementation of the Malawi Cultural Policy, especially with the establishment of the National Arts and Heritage Council of Malawi.

Besides, “the cultural and creative sectors were among the hardest hit by the pandemic, with over 10 million jobs lost in 2020 alone. [Besides, P]ublic investment in culture has been declining over the last decade and creative professions remain overall unstable and underregulated” (UNESCO, 2022, p. 5). These reasons justify why discussing matters regarding the implementation of the National Cultural Policy should matter today.

History of Cultural Policy in Malawi and challenges to cultural and creative industries

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) defines cultural policy as “a body of operational principles, administrative and budgetary practices and procedures which provide a basis for cultural action by the State” (UNESCO, 1969, p. 4). A cultural policy is therefore an important guideline architecture of all matters pertaining to culture. This importance is widely acknowledged yet in Malawi it took nearly four decades between policy consultation (in the early 1980s) and its adoption (in 2015).

Between July and August, 1981, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), acting as an executing agency of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), engaged a consultant by the name Charles E. Phillips for a mission which carried the following two immediate objectives: “(1) to assist the Government of Malawi to elaborate its Cultural Development Policy and Plan; and (2) to advise integration with the Unesco Global Economic and Social National Development Plans” (Phillips, 1982, p. 1).

Among others, Phillips was expected to come up with “a review of the Government’s activities in preserving its cultural heritage; guidelines for policy formulation on cultural development and implementation in Malawi; a National Plan for Cultural, Development; and incorporation of Malawi’s Plans with the African Regional and Global Plans” (Phillips, 1982, p. 2).

According to the report, Malawi’s supreme policy-making institution (as far as culture was concerned) was the one-party Convention which Phillips (1982, p. 3) describes as the “grassroots or primary parliament” (and the Parliament in Zomba as the “secondary one”). The Malawi Congress Party Convention was indeed the country’s primary parliament. At the Lilongwe 1968 Convention, for example, the members “recommended that Malawi should adopt Chichewa and English as the official languages (all other languages would naturally continue to be used in everyday life in their respective areas)” (p. 3). Even the Ministry of Youth and Culture established in 1973 did not have a bigger say on matters of culture, as its cultural wing was only preoccupied with organising yearly beauty contest and school drama.

Phillips (1982) noted that the people emphasised issues of ethics, good manners and a strong sense of connection with the rural areas (for those in urban areas). He therefore argued that in such a setting developing a comprehensive cultural development policy would not be a problem.

The major findings following the consultancy included (i) that Malawi has a rich cultural heritage (ii) that a country’s art products can be sold abroad, but that the Arts and Crafts Association of Malawi should be well organised by an appropriate specialised body “otherwise financial exploitation by unscrupulous middle-men will destroy the arts” (Phillips, 1982, p, 13); (iii) that Malawi has a rich tradition of ethnic dances (iv) that Malawi should plan cultural centres in Lilongwe and other regional capitals (v) that a Travelling Cultural Troupe, national in character and composed of the best musicians, singers, dancers, storytellers and craftsmen be organised to travel throughout the country, giving performances and demonstrations for the benefit of local audiences (vi) that the Government establish a rural press (vii) that every subject be 'culturally' loaded from textbooks to methods and procedures (viii) that festivals of arts be organised at district, regional and national level for the promotion of cultural and artistic awareness, national unity and national understanding.

Perhaps what this discussion should stress here is the proposal for the establishment of the Cultural Council. This point reveals that the idea to establish a powerful institution to look after matters culture has always been there from way back.

Phillips (1982) suggested that the National Cultural Council proposed be made up of personalities from all walks of life from the districts and regions so that it will inject the necessary initiative, creativity and responsibilities which the central state may not always achieve. There is no question he was reading into it elements of inclusivity and neutrality. The Council was to play a purely advisory role as a forum for planning, encouragement, public assessment, discussion, feed-back and the co-ordination of efforts.

Phillips also recommended that, as the country would be embarking on developing its Cultural Development Policy and Plan, attention had to be paid to the various UNESCO Conventions and Recommendations. This reveals that, right from the early days of the development of our Policy, the early 1980s, that is, public actions on culture were entreated to take on board international normative standards as set by UNESCO, of course, with great consideration for the local context.

It is said that most studies on cultural policies failed to pinpoint real needs because of “the high levels and systems of state control of cultural organizations and their staff, experienced under the cultural policies of many of the twentieth-century totalitarian regimes, whether to the left or right of the political spectrum, and which may make both politicians and professionals reluctant to define and promote explicit cultural policies” (Boylan, 2006, p. 9). This Report is fraught with these issues as activities and issues were often connected to aspirations and values as defined by the one-party state at the time. In Malawi, these values were cast in the stone of loyalty, obedience, unity and discipline.

It should be mentioned that soon after the consultation on the development of the Cultural Development Policy and Plan for Malawi in 1981, the general policy atmosphere favoured the initiative. First, the period 1980s and early 1990s saw culture taking the centre-stage in development and modernisation. According to UNESCO (2010), this is because international agencies had recognised that modernisation and development were impossible without putting people at the centre of development processes (p. 10).

Second, 1982, the very year UNESCO published the report for the Cultural Development Policy and Plan for Malawi, witnessed the World Conference on Cultural Policies in Mexico. UNESCO (2010) hails this Conference as a landmark as it was where nations acknowledged that you can never separate culture from development (p. 10).

When the UNESCO launched the World Decade on Culture and Development (1988 – 1998) to advocate for the contribution of culture in national and international development policies, efforts towards development of the Cultural Development and Plan for Malawi received a double boost. This sharper focus on culture at the international level “led to establishing international standard-setting instruments and demonstration tools, such as cultural statistics, inventories, and mapping of cultural resources, as well as to an increasing focus on cultural industries” (UNESCO, 2010, p. 10).

In Malawi, however, the early 1990s coincided with widespread agitation for change from one-party dictatorship to multiparty democracy. It was a period of great activity culminating in the drafting of a new Constitution. In 1994 a new Government was ushered in on a new Constitution which also provided for culture in section 26. Perhaps owing to numerous forms of legislative and policy reorganisation taking place at the time, the initiative towards development of a national cultural policy stalled or rather, received little attention. Even after the Intergovernmental Conference on Cultural Policies for Development had taken place in Stockholm in 1998 where cultural diversity was recognised as essential for development, emphasising the value of cultural pluralism and creative diversity, Malawi relegated the initiative to develop a national cultural policy.

The introductory section of the 2015 Malawi National Cultural Policy (launched in 2018) observes that, though the draft policy had been submitted to Cabinet in 2003, Cabinet did not discuss it at the time. The reason cited is that the draft policy document yearned revision since Malawi had ratified the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, and the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. The explanations are hard to swallow considering the fact that almost a dozen years was to pass before the National Cultural Policy was adopted in 2015. In fact, the Conventions, rather than hindering progress should have been taken for some window of opportunity, as they offered excellent parameters and insights for a robust cultural policy. According to UNESCO (2015), “clearly, the 2005 Convention has enriched the panoply of policy making for the benefit of the diversity of cultural expressions, even in the case of Parties that already had well-defined cultural policy frameworks in place before it entered into force” (p. 5). My suggestion is that there could have been better reasons to explain this dereliction.

I am of the feeling that the Cabinet would never attempt to discuss a matter so sensitive in an environment where Malawi was just coming out of the Open Term (later Third Term) tussle. History demonstrates that, following the failure of the bid to stand again by the incumbent at the time, Dr Bakili Muluzi, the policy terrain in the country took a terrible turn.

In 1999, the UNESCO-World Bank Intergovernmental Conference acknowledged the cultural capital as being crucial to advancing sustainable development and economic growth. This was the very year the issue of Third Term Bid was first floated onto the public square, a period which saw Parliament churning one bad bill after another, all strategically introduced to pave the way for the Third Term Bill. In November 2001, for example, an attempt was made to impeach three High Court Judges, allegedly for incompetence and misbehaviour. Earlier, in January 2001, a Bill had passed abolishing the Senate. In the same year, attempts had been made to introduce another Bill on non-governmental organisations, one which sought to clip wings of high-flying civil society organisations in the country. Thus, regulatory quality in the period suffered heavily. By regulatory quality it means the ability of government to reform existing rules and to formulate and implement sound policies and regulations that permit and promote democratic commitment and sustainable development (OECD, 2009). The Malawi Cultural Policy might have suffered a similar fate at the time following the failure of the Bid. This I say because historical institutionalism teaches us that events in the past do have a bearing on decisions today and in future.

And if progress had stalled because the nation had waited in the wings to incorporate emerging issues, why did Parliament take that long to adopt the Policy, and why is its implementation facing one hurdle after another? Perhaps a better explanation lies in that Government had never been sure how exactly to approach issues of culture in Malawi, giving all the more reason why implementation of the Cultural Policy was needed yesterday.

In 2012, Malawi is said to have been among countries that benefited from a European Union-UNESCO Expert Facility to Strengthen the System of Governance for Culture in Developing Countries Project which, among other things, involved technical assistance on developing a National Cultural Policy (Government of Malawi, 2015, p. iii). Perhaps it was after this nudge that we finally felt the need to adopt this policy in 2015. This is besides the July 2011 deadly violence between civilians and the police which reminded the world that initiatives on culture were needed if Malawi was to enjoy lasting peace. The realisation that peace without the glue of culture would never last intensified in the people the need to put culture at the centre of sustainable peace and development.

The policy is adopted by Parliament in 2015, and there appears another twist to it –signs of fissures, no, chasm, among arts bodies in the country began to show. Indications were that most artists had not understood the Policy itself, something that made them altogether lose sight of the Policy, as they now seemed to have set their eyes only on the institution the Policy had proposed to establish through an Act of Parliament. That the establishment of the National Arts and Heritage Council was part of the implementation of the National Cultural Policy was now secondary. Perhaps the reason is that the National Arts and Heritage Council promises a lot as far as the promotion of the CCIs in Malawi is concerned, or perhaps it is because the greater part of the promise is monetary in nature. In this, some sectors of the arts began to demand total ownership of the yet-to-be-established institution at the expense of the rest of the CCIs. Thus, the name National Arts and Heritage Council was considered too generic as it encompassed all CCIs. In December 2016, for example, a newspaper article carried a story under the headline “Arts, Heritage Council divides Arts Bodies”. According to journalist Howard Mlozi (2016), “the arts bodies [were] divided over Government’s plans to come up with a National Arts and Heritage Council instead of an Arts Council” (emphasis mine).

Mlozi (2016) quotes the President of the Musician Union of Malawi at the time, the Reverend Chimwemwe Mhango as accusing the Department of Culture of “bulldozing decisions”. According to Mlozi, the Reverend Mhango said their body was never consulted on this, and threatened to obtain an injunction (from court) against the decision. “We are not part and parcel of the National Arts and Heritage Council, but an Arts Council which we have been fighting[for] for many years. Where on earth is Arts and Heritage Council?” Reverend Mhango was quoted as querying (para 4).

The sentiments by the MUM President proves that discussion had moved away from the question of implementation of the National Cultural Policy to only a facet in the implementation, namely the creation of the National Arts and Heritage Council. Perhaps this is the reason the Spokesperson for the Ministry of Civic Education, Culture and Community Services, Christopher Mbukwa, wondered where that misunderstanding was emanating from (Mlozi, 2016).

The article then quotes Eric Mabedi (Late) as saying their association had been consulted on the matter, perhaps proving Mbukwa’s sentiments correct. “As a new President of the Theatre Association of Malawi, I am aware of the proposed National Arts and Heritage Council, and I support the proposal because consultations were already done” (para 7).

The fact that eyes of arts bodies in the country have set themselves fixedly at the National Arts and Heritage Council rather than at the implementation of the Cultural Policy as a whole might have sent shivers down the Government spine as a duty-bearer. Perhaps policymakers began to wonder whether there won’t arise a conundrum where artists would eventually come out demanding something akin to salary and similar things.

Come March 2022, artists, carrying placards, made a procession in Lilongwe to raise the conscience of their Government on the question of the establishment of the National Arts and Heritage Council. The message on the placards – enough to leave policymakers quaking in their boots – said it all: “We want Arts and Heritage Council Bill Now!”, “Arts is life”, “We are tired on fake promises on NAHEC”, “We want cultural villages for every district for creation”, and “The creation and cultural heritage industries need the National Arts and Heritage Council Now!”

When policymakers sense threat in some piece of legislation or policy instrument, they resort to alternative instruments (that would lead to attainment of similar goals as the one put aside). In October 2022, the President of the Republic of Malawi, Reverend Dr Lazarus Chakwera, inaugurated the first ever National Day of Unity and Dialogue. Although the President had indicated that the purpose was the “promotion of the Malawian national identity and dignity and national heritage”, this was by no means part of the implementation of the National Cultural Policy as we know it; it was part of the implementation of the National Peace Policy, an alternative or complementary policy instrument.

That the implementation of the National Peace Policy was assuming priority over the implementation of the National Cultural Policy can be measured from the sentiments the President, Dr Lazarus Chakwera, expressed in November 2023, when he directed the first Thursday of November to be Umodzi Day, that is, Unity Day when all Malawians will be celebrating peace and unity. In the words of the President: “Going forward, this is to be day for remembering Malawian history and teaching the young the values of Malawian culture and promoting peace” (Munthali, 2023, quoting President Chakwera, para 4).

In November, 2022, almost four years after the Policy was launched, artists vowed again to push for the Legislators to pass the Bill establishing the National Arts and Heritage Council. However, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice, Pilirani Masanjala, made it clear on the position of the Bill, namely that it had not yet reached Parliament: “There is no set timeline currently on when it will be completed, but it is among the Bills that are being drafted” (Luka, 2022, quoting Pilirani Masanjala, para 7).

As far as implementation of the National Cultural Policy is concerned, 2023 started on a promising note. In February that year, Government told a gathering of members of the CCIs at the 2023 National Artistic Freedom Conference that the Bill to establish the National Arts and Heritage Council would be tabled in Parliament “soon”. Tembo (2023) attributed the words to the Director of Arts in the Ministry of Local Government, Unity and Culture, Humphrey Mpondaminga. The article also attributed to Mpondaminga as saying the consultancy work for the Bill had started in 2019.

Come September 2023, the Government appeared again; this time, Deputy Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture, reiterating Government’s commitment to pass the Bill. According to Gondwe (2023), the Deputy Minister was speaking at Blantyre Arts and Cultural Festival.

All indications in September 2023 were that Government was geared towards the construction of a multi-purpose building for arts in the country. I am not sure whether this should be considered a move away from the National Arts and Heritage Bill. However, what is true is what the Minister, Richard Chimwendo Banda, observed on the issue, namely: “This is a flagship project for art which would have a national theatre, school for the arts and national museum” (see Chilangiza, 2023, para 3).

We are in January 2024; unless Government is given assurance that our interest is culture in its entirety, and not merely the National Arts and Heritage Council, it, Government, will keep playing delaying tactics on the question of establishing the National Arts and Heritage Council. Thus, all CCIs in the country ought to come together and demonstrate that they understand the meat of the Policy at which point Government will begin to take the cultural fraternity seriously.

Robust implementation of National Cultural Policy: Promises to Malawians and assurances to Government

Once again, the Malawi Cultural Policy or rather the National Cultural Policy is a great opportunity for the CCIs in Malawi to ascend to their rightful position and role in influencing a nation’s socio-cultural and economic drive. First, the Malawi Cultural Policy proposes the establishment of the National Arts and Heritage Council of Malawi through an Act of Parliament. Parliament is yet to pass this Bill. If passed into law, this Act will have a Board, representative of every sector of the CCIs plus representatives of custodians of Malawi’s indigenous knowledge at the community level. Such a wide array of representation accords with the spirit of complementary policies on two fronts: promotion of peace and unity in the country, and supporting implementation of other cultural policies.

On the question of peace, robust implementation of the Malawi Cultural Policy will enhance unity and peace in the country. Perhaps this is the reason ex-officio members of the proposed Board in the National Arts and Heritage Council include Secretary Responsible for Culture, and also Secretary for Local Government and National Unity.

Malawi now has the Peace and Unity Policy, 2017. This follows the adoption of the National Peace Policy by the Malawi Government in August 2017. The Policy was launched in November, the same year. This was a brilliant move. Despite this, what I fail to understand is the fact that this Policy does not mention “culture” or the CCIs not even once. It talks of dialogue, however, the preserve of CCIs, for example, newspapers and books. This absence does not augur well with the concept of infrastructure for peace the National Peace Policy advocates, which stresses that “peacebuilding is not the preserve of the elite but rather a joint responsibility of all of society” (Dzinesa, 2022, p. 69, citing Odendaal, 2012, p. 41). Perhaps the fact that the establishment of the National Peace Policy was an effort by the United Nations (rather than UNESCO as an intergovernmental agency) in July 2013 after the 2011 protests over political oppression and deteriorating socio-economic problems explains why culture did not feature directly in the document. But still, implementation of the National Cultural Policy provides a good link between culture on the one hand, and peace and unity on the other.

There is a strong link between culture, peace and the media, for example, newspapers and books. In the words of Baran (2009), “the media – either as forums in which important issues are debated or storytellers that carry our beliefs and values across people, space, and time – are central to the creation and maintenance of our various cultures” (p. xxi). What this means is that, if the CCIs do not form part of the peace design, they are bound to transmit wrong values from the minds of people who do not espouse the principles of peace and unity. Thus, if Malawi is to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 16 – peace, justice and strong institutions – then conduits which transmit beliefs, values, etc., ought to be part of the peace equation. Remember the Preamble to the Constitution of UNESCO: “since wars begin in the minds of men, it is the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed.”

When one policy supports the implementation of another policy or policies to create policy balance or synergy, the concept of complementary policies applies. These are solutions which, though developed to serve different purposes, require other policies to add value for synergy within a system. For example, a policy on HIV and AIDS would work better when supported by a policy on nutrition. The reason is simple: you would not achieve that much giving the person all the right medicine yet not accompanied by proper nutrition. The two policies are different but they complement each other. Thus, the importance of complementary policies is that they complement and help avoid unintended consequences. A country can have robust policies on agriculture but if they are not supported by good regulations over use of chemicals, the unintended consequences may be dire. Unintended consequences in this case could include death of marine owing to too much acidity as a result of the intensive use of land and chemicals.

Robust implementation of the National Cultural Policy can facilitate smooth implementation of the amended Copyright Act passed in 2016 (commenced on March 13, 2017 by Government Notice 21 of 2017) in a number of ways, for example, on expressions of folklore. It can also play an important role in organizing the sector for efficiency in collective rights management.

Section 67(1) of the Copyright Act 2016 states that “copyright in expressions of folklore shall vest in perpetuity in the Government on behalf of, and for the benefit of the people of Malawi”. How this will work in practice on a terrain without a National Cultural Policy remains a mystery. In other words, how will the Government of Malawi achieve this when the very instrument that should enable access and development of the sector is dormant? Besides, the Copyright Act talks of authorisation for use of expressions of folklore when it states in section 71(1) that, “authorisation of any use of expressions of folklore may be general or specific and may be granted upon application in writing to the Minister.” The National Cultural Policy far from implementation, this provision serves as a hinderance to access rather than one facilitating.

Robust implementation of the National Cultural Policy and the sanity or order it can create on matters involving CCIs and culture can encourage other cultural professionals and rightsholders to develop policies modelled upon this mother Policy. For example, Book Publishers Association of Malawi and other book stakeholders, for example, librarians, archivists, etc., will be able to develop their own policy, the Book Policy for the protection and promotion of the industry. Such a policy might address, for example, challenges facing book development, marketing, and promotion. This might feed into efforts to improve quality education and, by extension, social and economic development. The importance of this could be summarised in what the UK Department for Education (2012), citing Clark (2011) observes, namely that “there is a positive relationship between the estimated number of books in the home and attainment” (p. 11). Citing OECD (2002), it also observes that “reading enjoyment has been reported as more important for children’s educational success than their family’s socio-economic status” (p. 3).

The role organised cultural and creative industries can play in uplifting lives of women and the youths in Malawi has been explained in detail in the previous sections. Perhaps what is important here is to emphasise the fact that “large shares of women and youth are employed in the culture sector and in CCIs in particular” (UNESCO & IBRD, 2021, p. 18), thereby making the cultural sector a ready answer to the problem of employment among women and the youths. In this way, implementation of the National Cultural Policy puts into practice efforts towards women and girl empowerment in Malawi. The figures on the youths are too enticing to neglect, as “globally, approximately 20% of employed people ages 15-29 work in CCIs, which as a sector is the largest employer of youth” (p. 18).

The CCIs also contribute to the creation of jobs associated with the cultural and creative sector. UNESCO and IBRD (2021) aptly summarises this when they observe: “A preliminary calculation using UNESCO data suggests that, overall, for every creative job in a CCI, 1.7 non-creative jobs are created. These jobs often do not require specific qualifications, and therefore provide significant employment opportunities (though a large share of these jobs may not be of high quality” (p. 18). A good example on this are loaders a publishing house is bound to employ.

The benefits of CCIs sometimes go beyond formal education in that the entry point of some CCIs is, not low as such, but affordable, as talent could be more important. At kenyapage.net/franco/bio.html (“An introduction to Franco Luambo Makiadi”) is a tale of Late Franco Luambo Makiadi, son to a father who was working for a railway company and a mother who was selling home-made bread; it tells of how he started music from a very humble beginning and at a tender age, playing his guitar to attract customers to his mother’s stall. And Franco ended up becoming the King of Congolese music, selling over 150,000 albums.

In Zimbabwe, we have Aleck Macheso. You will have to listen to the live show at Bulawayo on July 2, where he dishes out “Kutadzirana” and “Fara Nevamwe” to appreciate how ridiculous this person is, how that he punishes the guitar, literally turning it into a talking machine.

I am not sure of his education and all other things, but one thing I know: this Macheso, son to a Malawian father and a Zimbabwean mother, learnt the skill from his two uncles, and how many people has he, in turn, taught the skill? How many now earn their income, wondering what the world would have been like to them had Chisale never visited Salisbury that long ago? And how many other sectors – DJs, journalists, students studying and analysing music, name it – have thrived on the music of this ordinary giant?

In Malawi, Joseph Nkasa has learnt the skill of imbuing traditional storytelling, discussing issues affecting Malawians, connecting with them, striking at the heart, and this has won him many plaudits. But of his background, Wonderful Nkhutche (2016), writes in Malawi24:

Born in a poor family in Mayaka, Zomba district, Malawi’s old capital city, Nkasa grew up a poor boy. According to his autobiographical song, ‘Umboni Wanga’ (My Testimony) off his album ‘Lamulo Liposa Mphamvu’, he says his father was a basket maker. The source of income was not enough and resulted in what he called ‘a pathetic life’.

But at one time, Nkasa received a sum equivalent to 10,000 USD on royalty accumulation. And today, Nkasa is credited with his own tune many young people have adopted. Not long ago, Late Thomas Chibade confessed to have been inspired by this Mayaka genius.

As I am writing this, some young people in the country have just pulled out all the stops, making a name for themselves following the premiere of their movie “School Days”. From nowhere, they have become a household name, attracting the attention of powerful businesses in the country. Such content created can also drive demand for electronics and digital devices, for example, TV sets, tablets, DVD players and e-readers (EYGM, 2015).

A sane, orderly cultural setting can also offer job opportunities to talented young people studying in our universities. Students in such programmes as cultural economy, cultural studies, journalism and communication studies, publishing, information science, tourism and hospitality, etc. will have opportunities in the job market. These could also be motivated to go the self-entrepreneurial route, thereby creating jobs for others as well. Thus, these talented young boys and girls will become employers themselves, thereby offering a solution to the problem of unemployment in the country.

Finally, the network and collaboration could help in sharping and shaping the cultural and creative industry by offering new opportunities in education, environmental sustainability, corporate social responsibility, collective knowledge on issues related to artistic freedom, knowledge and expertise in entrepreneurship, and commercialisation of cultural goods and services.

Collective knowledge on issues related to artistic freedom is crucial because “violations of artistic freedom continue to occur across all continents, ranging from censorship to imprisonment, physical threats and even killings” (UNESCO, 2020, p. 5). A sane cultural terrain will see artists speak with one voice on issues affecting their rights and freedoms. Such networks could also help in the acquisition of new technologies in the CCIs besides helping the sector find solutions on how best to use intellectual property to protect and promote goods and services carrying IP.

The network could also help the cultural groupings established all over Malawi to understand where their allegiance should lie, that is, upon their people within the context of respect to other groupings and values. A robust cultural policy implemented through consensus and collaboration can help these groupings appreciate each other’s effort and fight with unity of purpose for lasting peace and unity in Malawi.

How the National Cultural Policy should be implemented

The National Cultural Policy was overtaken by a number of emerging issues right from the time it was launched in 2018. First, the document was developed using the Millennium Development Goals as guiding instruments. The current ambitious global plan, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have necessitated revision or updating of the Policy. This is especially the case on the question of the digital economy. According to UNESCO, IDB, SEGIB and MERCOSUR (2022), “a new cultural policy agenda that follows the principles of the sustainable development agenda must address digital inclusion as a priority in terms of training and access to technological equipment, coverage, and quality of connectivity” (p. 206). This also implies finding solutions for challenges and disputes that can arise in the course of implementing technological advances. In the words of UNESCO (2019), conditions of modernity require more than the implicitly moral values of the traditional society (p. 9).

Just a year after the Policy was launched, the world was hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic which, as already explained, inflicted a near-fatal blow to the CCIs. The lesson drawn from this is that good policies must cherish the character of anticipation, that is, look ahead of problematic issues before they transform themselves into rooted social problems (UNESCO, 2019).

This implementation must also be informed by principles of evidence-based policymaking. According to INASP (2016, p. 24) citing Newman, Fisher and Shaxson (2012), evidence-informed policy is,

that which has considered a broad range of research evidence; evidence from citizens and other stakeholders; and evidence from practice and policy implementation, as part of a process that considers other factors such as political realities and current public debates. We do not see it as a policy that is exclusively based on research, or as being based on one set of findings. We accept that in some cases, research evidence may be considered and rejected; if rejection was based on understanding of the insights that the research offered then we would still consider any resulting policy to be evidence-informed.

Implementation based on principles of evidence-based policymaking entails inclusivity and collaboration. In the words of UNESCO and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (2021, p. 13), “While national policy interventions to enable culture and creativity often get much of the attention, the transformative impact of CCIs will not be fully realized without policies and enabling environments at the local level, complemented by partnerships across levels of government and a range of stakeholders, including the private sector, civil society, and local communities.” This is where evidence-based inclusive cultural policy will matter, because such a policy will see the various cultures, innovation and creativity in our communities feed the cultural economy. For example, the CCIs in cities will benefit by collaboration with the local communities, exploiting their indigenous knowledge without infringing on their intellectual property. Cities will get organised for cinemas, music, dances, gastronomy, museums, zoos, name it, a totality of which will translate into a formidable socio-cultural and economic revolution.

Collaboration goes hand in hand with participation and transparency. In fact, “transparent and informed cultural policies call for the collaborative participation of a variety of actors, including governments and civil society. By bringing the concerns of different cultural actors to the attention of public authorities, civil society organizations (CSOs) contribute to greater transparency and accountability” (UNESCO, 2021a, p. 9). Participation of civil society organisations at all levels of policymaking is therefore encouraged. It should be said here that such CSOs should be those that espouse principles of neutrality.

If the implementation of the National Cultural Policy will be couched in this fashion, the Policy will also serve as an enabling instrument for free development of the arts and for facilitating access to arts and culture for all citizens as is the case in Germany where “the overarching cultural policy goal is to guarantee the free development of the arts and to facilitate access to arts and culture for all citizens” (UNESCO, 2012, p. 4). What a cultural this will create.

Recommendations

Government should intensify awareness efforts to ensure all rightsholders in Malawi understand the objectives or pillars of the National Cultural Policy. This is important to tame expectations, and to help the world of art appreciate the principles of incremental policy, that is, arrangement to roll out activities in phases in order to match resources available. For two reasons, leaders or facilitators of such awareness campaign should come from cultural associations themselves, that is, from personnel thoroughly conversant with the issues at hand. This will bring recognition to contributions CCIs make to the nation besides enhancing ownership or acceptance of the Policy by the CCI membership.

Political parties in Malawi will soon, within the scaffolding of the Malawi Vision 2063, be developing their manifestos to sell us themselves for the September 2025 Tripartite Elections. Let them make a solemn vow to the world of culture to demonstrate how exactly they plan to implement the National Cultural Policy. To both those in power now and those aspiring for this coveted chalice, this they should know: “The role of the state in defining strategy, purposes and priorities of policy for culture and the measure of public understanding of the value of culture depend on a general conceptualizing of the cultural sector and cultural policies” (Intergovernmental Foundation for Educational, Scientific and Cultural Cooperation, IFESCCO, & UNESCO, 2009, p. 4). Let both parties give us their general understanding of the value of culture by demonstrating to us they understand challenges affecting the CCIs in Malawi. One thing I know: artists and all cultural professionals will not buy a glossed over manifesto on matters involving the cultural and creative industries or the arts-affiliated sectors and professions. Our vote is up for grabs for those willing to demonstrate that the question of culture and the cultural and creative industries in Malawi is a top priority.

Conclusion

A revitalised cultural and creative sector promises something akin to a revolution on the Malawi setting where the economy is battling mindboggling social and economic ills, a terrain where the majority of the youths and women are still fighting for their portion and proportion of the employment segment. Culture proffers available resources which creativity and innovation can tap for a vibrant cultural economy. These promises will remain a distant wish if the terrain lacks certainty, the form of certainty that can trigger a culture of order following implementation of the National Cultural Policy, the instrument which has proposed for us the establishment of the National Arts and Heritage Council. It is important here to remember that the National Cultural Policy for Malawi has three objectives, one of which “To ensure the availability of sustainable financial resources for cultural development”. This is the one closely associated with the establishment of the National Arts and Heritage Council. This institution is important perhaps owing to the generally sorry welfare state of the majority of the membership of the industry, but focus on the Council should not divert our attention from the total picture. As we lobby and negotiate for implementation of the National Cultural Policy, we must be aware that the National Arts and Heritage Council is not the only institution entrusted with implementation of this Policy. In this way, we will speak with a sane voice, bringing the issue before the politicians for an issue-based campaign over an area of concern the people in the cultural and creative sector wish to hear and see implemented. We can never work with what we do not have; we have culture and enough talent to spark a cultural revolution to help us take full advantage of the digital economy to compete on the world market for the much-needed foreign exchange. But this culture and talent, if not harnessed, will remain a recurring dream petering out for, in the words of Thomas Wolfe, that American novelist (1900 – 1938): “If a man has talent and cannot use it, he has failed. If he has talent and uses half of it, he has partly failed. If he has a talent and learns somehow to use the whole of it, he has gloriously succeeded, and won a satisfaction and a triumph few men ever knew.” Robust implementation of the Malawi Cultural Policy will help the nation utilise its bouquet of art to benefit our generation and the generation coming in all areas of life and development. The choice is before us. We can take it and win an important battle, or leave it and continue to wallow ourselves in this untold misery of poverty.

I love the world of art; I love my Country.

GOD bless

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