Iphi 'Africa Project
Annual report
For the fiscal year April 2009 -March 2010
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON'S REMARKS
Thulile MacDonald
Iphi Africa Project is a non profit making cultural based organization working with both community based and professional artists. It is registered with the Swaziland National Council of Arts and Culture through the Association of Swaziland Theatre Groups (ASTG). Since its inception in 2007 the organization envisaged to undertake outstanding community development and arts work and become an excellent role model for innovative creative and sustainable initiatives. Through out the years the organisation has continued to grow embarking on local and international programs. Though arts and culture is our primary focus, over the years we have been engaged in a lot of other social transformation work using popular media as a tool that bring forth change.
Iphi 'Africa Project has however struggled to attract significant funding for its programs largely due to the profound reluctance by local donor agents in accepting the popular media as a developmental tool as well as an industry in the country. The lack of funding has failed to dampen the spirit and motivation of our organization, through out the years we still continue to exist and carry out our mandate though on a small scale.
It is our hope as an organisation that one day our efforts are going to be recognised and thereby create an opportunity for our organisation to grow. Our wish has always been to be able to carry out all the planned activities for any particular year and contribute to community development as well as the arts industry.
In conclusion I wish to thank all our sponsors, partners, artists, volunteers and the Iphi 'Africa staff for the job well done. It is my hope and prayer that the same spirit of partnership and togetherness continues to be the core of our existence
I thank you
Thulile N MacDonald
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Executive Management Committee chairperson
DIRECTOR'S REMARKS
Nelson Mapako
In our fiscal year March 2009 - March 2010 we have been engaged in training workshops, performances, and community dialogues, campaigns on human rights, HIV and AIDS, as well as international collaborations among other activities. However, working against a background of the arts not being accorded a developmental status as well as being considered a fully fledged industry, the twelve months under review were so strenuous especially with regards to financing our programs.
During the course of the year we received limited funds (most of it for commissioned work) and as a result we ended up doing less activities than anticipated. Also there was a significant turn over of artists that we work with as it proved hard to sustain them. We were also forced to suspend our children's arts training program which we had just initiated. However they are plans to resuscitate the program in the early months of the subsequent year.
We are however very grateful to all our partners and friends who have offered immense support and advice since our inception and during the development stage of our organization . As an organization we are always eager to develop and further our work through sustainable partnerships with other organizations.
Our strength as an organization is the ability to collaborate and network with individuals and other organization involved in community development and the arts. We maintain our position that a relatively small injection of funds can have a big impact on our capacity to develop and refine new work in the country. This will help us retain the reputation as a creative organization where development workers and artists alike can choose to work and make a living.
It is our hope that as we begin a new year, all our dreams will come to fruition. However this can only be achieved with the support of all who have interest in philanthropic work as well as the arts and culture at heart. We look forward to a year of sustainable community development and creativity.
I thank you
___________________________
Nelson Mapako
(Director)
WORKING WITH OTHER NON- GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS
Partnership in community development has remained as one of the pillars of Iphi 'Africa Project’s existence. In this time in era when it is proving difficult to attract core-funding from the donor agencies, it has been imperative for the organization to take advantage of its existing networks and partner with other Non-Governmental organization who have been so fortunate enough to get the necessary funding for their activities.
Being a cultural and Arts oriented community based organization we have utilized our expertise of using popular media techniques as a communication tool, a tool which most of the NGO’s do not posses. As a result we have been involved in quite a variety of activities rendering services such as theatre for Social Change, Social Marketing and Advocacy Campaigns. In the course of the year we tackled social norms and customs that deprive women of their rights. We have also been involved in advocating for the enactment of laws that address issues of child abuse. This was done through forum theatre with members of parliament at the Orion Hotel in May 2009. the advocacy campaign was organized by the National Children Coordinating Unit under the Deputy Prime Minister’s office.
30 years after the drafting of the Convention for elimination of discrimination against women (CEDAW) there was a celebration to mark 5years of its rectification in Swaziland. The contents of the Convention were translated into the local Siswati language and as an organization we were commissioned to depict some elements of the convention through theatre. With the Theme – men and women working together for a brighter future, the event was a resounding success. The campaign was done in the month of November 2009 at the Royal Swazi Sun Convention Center. Issues that include marriage, health, women and child trafficking as well as land ownership were addressed.
In the months of June and July 2009 we were commissioned by Skillshare International Swaziland to conscientize school children through a civics education community theatre program. The campaign centered on socio-economic rights and children’s rights and responsibilities. The campaign was done against a background of the country experiencing a number of serious socio economic rights challenges especially with underlying factors of HIV and AIDS, as well as poverty. Presentations were done in eight schools across the country and a total number of -------children were reached during the campaign. Issues involved included HIV & AIDS, child abuse, teenage pregnancies, teacher pupil affairs among others. (FREE EDUCATION) the project was one of the most successful campaigns undertaken by the organization and a DVD documentary is available on request.
In winding up our financial year in March 2010 through Lundvondvolo Community Action Project we were involved in a campaign for Women’s rights commissioned by the Women & Law in Southern Africa (WILSA). The campaign centered on the need for continued advocacy awareness raising and support for initiatives on Gender HIV and AIDS as well as Human rights. The intervention envisaged to improve national and community resilience with regards to factors that exacerbate the continued disregard of women’s rights, which also as a result fuel the spread of HIV. The production that was created empowered women to take a leading role in protecting their rights while also encouraging them to support one another. The play also targeted men encouraging them to desist from being stereotypes and be partners in women empowerment. Issues highlighted in the play included; the vote for a women campaign, HIV and AIDS, stigma and discrimination, safer sex practices, communication in relationships as well as gender based violence. Presentations were done at Mbabane West and Mayiwane constituencies respectively the two activities were well attended by community members.
OTHER COMMISIONED WORK
In pursuit of self sustainability and especially with a scenario whereby we don’t have the necessary resources to do what we wish to do, the organization always finds itself rendering its services to the cooperate world, individuals, parastatals and institutions for a fee. These are usually through commissioned plays tailor made to suite the needs of the client. In the year under review we managed to clinch a few deals against a background of economic recession and stiff competition. In pursuit of excellence we took the up the challenge and lived to the expectations of all our business partners.
Our partners for the year included:-
a)Sports council of Swaziland
The council commissioned us to create a puppetry theatre production promoting the importance of partaking in sporting activities by everyone in the country. The campaign dubbed (siyashukuma) which means exercise targeted everyone regardless of age, gender or race. As a result we created a 15 minutes long puppetry theatre play which we performed during the Swaziland International Trade Fair 2009. Presentations were done at the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs stand and received an overwhelming response from the trade fair patrons.
b)Swaziland Medical Aid (SWAZIMED)
SwaziMed held an open day for its members on the 05th December 2009 at the SNB Restaurant in Matsapha. Iphi “Affrica was commissioned to create a social marketing production outlining SwaziMed’s products and services. We also had a privilege of providing entertainment in the form of traditional and contemporary dances.
c)Swaziland Electricity Company (SEC)
After submitting our proposal to be partners with the company in their road show sometime in 2009, SEC finally commissioned us to be part of their Road Show that was done at Ludzeludze in February 2010. working with such a big parastatal was a great achievement for us and we lived up to expectation. We developed a production that addresses three issues that are major in the parastatal’s campaign. These are; i) raising awareness on the newly introduced prepaid electricity system which SEC in installing and every house hold to replace the old billing system. ii) Encouraging people to install electricity in their homesteads especially in the rural areas. iii) Encourage people who already use electricity to save power. We were initially commissioned for two road shows however the second one was postponed.
These commissioned jobs largely contributed a lot in sustaining our project. We also hope that in the coming year more companies will recognize our work and commission us to do their road shows and campaigns.
TRAINING WORKSHOPS
The standard of Theatre in Swaziland continues to lag behind when compared to other Southern African countries. This is largely due to the absence of any formal Arts School in the country as well as funding specifically meant for the arts. As a result a majority of theatre practitioners were either trained outside the country or have to rely on informal workshops over the years. These workshops have succeeded in grooming talent thereby churning out professional theatre practitioners. As a result a majority of art practitioners in the country are informal trained and largely rely on talent.
With this background one of Iphi “Africa’s mandate is to facilitate arts workshops for different organizations. The training expertise within the organisation’s staff positions it as one of the leading Arts during te course of the year the we facilitated two major creative workshops on behalf of Swaziland Theatre for Children and young people (SWATCYP) Two workshops were organized by the Family Life Association of Swaziland (FLAS) and Lusweti Health Communication Institute. Both workshops were conducted in May 2009.
1.LUSWETI WORKSHOP
The focus of this workshop was LUSWETI’s ONE LOVE Campaign, raising awareness on the dangers of one having multiple concurrent sexual partners. One strategy which the organization wanted to use was mobile dialogues in buses. It was then that after being approached by SWATCYP (the initial partners with Lusweti) Iphi ‘Africa identified “Invisible Theatre” as an appropriate approach to the dialogues. Our task was to identify the strategy and facilitate the workshop. Lusweti’s plan was to dialogue with different bus passengers that travel around the country.
For the whole week theatre artists were trained in all the techniques in Invisible Theatre as outline by Augusto Boal in his book “Theatre of the Oppressed”. Eight artists were trained and they went on to successful implement the program in buses to the satisfaction of both SWATCYP and Lusweti.
2.SWATCYP/ FLAS
Iphi ‘Africa was once again commissioned by SWATCYP to conduct a 14 days community theatre workshop for the Family Life Association of Swaziland (FLAS). Participants for the workshop were drawn from the Youth Action Movement (YAM) a youth wing of FLAS.
The workshop covered an introduction to Community Theatre, Uses of Theatre, the Community Theatre Process as well as theatre skills and Techniques. During the workshop participants were able to carry out research, do problem identification in the community, Data analysis, Play creation, performances as well as discussions and project evaluation. A total of thirty four artists were trained and were drawn from four towns in the country namely Manzini, Mbabane, Nhlangano and Big Bend. The message that was to be depicted in the plays was HIV and AIDS as well as Stigma and Discrimination.
WORKING WITH CHILDREN – THE CHILDREN’S ARTSLAB
In the month of April 2009 we initiated a children’s performing arts workshop dubbed The Children’s ArtsLab. The goal was to impact the love for arts and develop creativity among the children. The project kicked off with a total of twenty eight children drawn from the local community in Nkwalini Zone 3 Mbabane. Sessions were conducted at Embiteni Arts Centre from where we operate. Training was conducted by senior professional artists working under Iphi ‘Africa Project. The children received training in Dance, Acting, Puppetry, storytelling and Music.
It is with sadness though that six months into the program we had to suspend it due to resource constraints. As a result these children lost out on receiving life skills. A majority of whom were from under privileged families and orphaned. Without funding the program has proved difficult to implement and it is our hope that in the near future we will find a willing partner who will inject the necessary resources for this noble and innovative initiative. We are planned to resume te project in June 2010.
INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS
Yingmei Duan. (German)
In February 2010 we had the privilege of hosting Yingmei Duan. Yingmei is performance artist who has traveled to almost every continent exhibiting her works of art. She is originally from China but now resident in Germany where she has lived for the past 11 years. Yingmei has over 20 years experience in the arts both as a fine artists as well as doing performance art. She was in the country through the invitation of Iphi ‘Africa’s Director Nelson Mapako. Together with Mapako, Yingmei collaborated in gathering data on polygamy as well as the general country side life in Swaziland. They spent seven days living in a polygamous family at a place called Tingonini village, near Buhleni in the Northern part of Swaziland. The family stay was a success even though the time spent there was short.
Upon return from the country side the couple collaborated with other four Swazi artists in putting up a performance at Embiteni Arts Centre in Nkwalini, Zone 3 Mbabane. Though the creative process was grueling and sometimes not so pleasant the finally performance was successfully done on Saturday 27th February 2010. During Yingmei’s visit to Swaziland we had a privilege to meet the Chief Executive Office of the Swaziland National Council of Arts and Culture, Mr. Stanley Dlamini. The meeting which was largely a courtesy call to the mother body was facilitated by the Association of Swaziland Theatre Groups (ASTG) where we are affiliated.
We had also planned to host a training workshop for local Swazi Artists in performance art facilitated by Yingmei and Nelson. Due to limited resources we requested for support from ASTG that is for the Association to meet the travel cost and food for twelve artists who were to participate in the workshop. Performance art or Live Art as some sectors would call it is not a very popular art genre in Africa hence this kind of a workshop could have helped in introducing another dimension of the arts of which interested artists could have tried out. However the requested assistance never materialized and the workshop was consequently cancelled.
Laway Arts South Africa- Netherlands
Iphi ‘Africa Project has an ongoing collaboration with Laway Arts a first of its kind theatre project in the country. The two organizations has worked together in training actors in different theatre skills that included puppetry, music, story telling, mime and dance among others. This was done at Msunduza Hall in January 2010. the workshop was facilitated by Toke Van Oorsouw from Laway arts Netherlands. The project shall culminate into a five days creative workshop to be conducted at Malolotja Environmental Education Centre from 15th-20thMay 2010.The end product of this collaboration will be a prodcution entittled “A Drop in the Land” which shall be performed in Swaziland, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
