UNESCO trains Nigerian, Beninoise students on entrepreneurship in creative arts

To further promote and protect the diversity of cultural expressions in Africa, UNESCO Institute for African Culture and International Understanding has trained additional 20 students on entrepreneurial skills to make careers in creative and cultural industries.

Welcoming participants to the event held at its office at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Wednesday, the director of the institute and former executive secretary of the National Universities Commission(NUC), Professor Peter Okebukola, said UNESCO through the institute is passionate and committed to expose and equip many African youths, who are interested in creative arts with the right knowledge and skills to become successful entrepreneurs in the cultural and creative industries.

He said the belief is that upon training, the students would now or in future make a career and produce goods and provide services within the two industries.

Represented at the free training programme which was the third in the series by Amb. Adebola Labiran, former Nigeria’s High Commissioner to India and now Senior Programme Advisor to the UNESCO Institute for African Culture and International Understanding, Okebukola said the opportunity the trainees who are mostly from Nigeria and the Benin Republic had particularly over people in the industry in the past is that they could explore the digital environment and do their work more effectively and profitably.

He said the institute quite understands that cultural and creative industries had become essential industries inclusive for economic growth, reducing inequalities, and achieving the goals set out in the 2030 UN’s Sustainable Development Agenda.

He said that was why the institute is making frantic efforts to raise many more youths in Africa in that regard, noting that part of the efforts is to train over 100 youths by next year on how to make various cultural goods.

He said on the part of UNESCO, the institute would continue to raise awareness towards achieving the 2005 UNESCO Convention which is to protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions and also encourage signatory countries to utilise the digital environment in promoting the convention.

He said that was why the participants must equally understand that cultural goods and services are not mere commodities or consumer goods like any others but goods that convey cultural identity, values and meaning.

“So, every country that is party to the convention should take all appropriate measures to protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions and also ensure that there is free flow of ideas and works among countries,” Okebukola further advised.

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