CISAC Holds African Committee Meeting in Portuguese-speaking Angola
CISAC’s African Committee opened this morning in Luanda, Angola with a busy three-day agenda of discussions and training ahead. Hosted by Angola’s National Union of Artists and Composers (UNAC) and at the invitation of the government of Angola, this is the first African Committee meeting of the year, and the first time that CISAC’s African committee meets in a Portuguese-speaking African country.
The meeting opened with keynote speeches from Angola Minister of Culture Ms Rosa Maria Martins da Cruz e Silva, Luanda Vice-Governor Ms Ngila de Carvalho, African Committee President Assa Irene Vierra and local society UNAC President Manuel Calado. In his opening speech, CISAC Director General Gadi Oron highlighted the significance of the meeting in Angola as the first meeting of the Committee in a Lusophone country. He added,
The African region is increasingly showing its power and its critical role in shaping international copyright laws and policies.
We had great success last week when a list of countries formally demanded that discussions commence on the artist's resale right at WIPO’s Standing Committee on Copyright and I am very proud to say that this achievement is thanks to African countries who are the champions of this process.”
The first day of the African Committee focuses on a review of CISAC’s strategy in general, and for the African region in particular. Other topics included CISAC's governance reform project, national reports from African countries and a strategic overview from CISAC Regional Director for Africa Balamine Ouattara. A report on the African common database project followed from SAMRO. Pan-African Composers and Songwriters Association (PACSA) Chair Sam Mbende presented his activity report for the previous year.
The following day is dedicated to training sessions for local CISAC members in a number of important areas. Subject matter experts will be discussing audiovisual copyright contracts, the Beijing and Marrakesh treaties, and the principals, documentation, collection and distribution of remuneration for private copying. UNAC officially joined CISAC as a member at the confederation’s general assembly last month, and the day concludes with the signing of an agreement between them and their new partners.
On Thursday, a full day of working meetings has been organised between the CISAC African Committee, Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music (SACEM), Portuguese Society of Authors (SPA) and WIPO on the prospects for dynamic partnerships in Africa. The African Committee meeting will officially close with attention turning to local authors (Angolan creators’ forum) ahead of a press conference.
Watch the CISAC African Committee video (Portuguese only):
Produced by UNAC.