Wits UNESCO Chair to bolster entrepreneurship in the cultural and creative sectors
- Wits University
Wits University and the University of Antwerp collaborate to drive cultural research and strengthen arts policy on two continents.
The joint UNESCO Chair in Cultural Entrepreneurship and Policy will be led by Avril Joffe, a cultural policy and management expert at the Wits School of Arts alongside her counterpart Professor Annick Schramme, Academic Director for the Creative Industries at the Antwerp Management School.
Under the duo’s expertise in entrepreneurship, cultural management, policy making and global economies, the Chair will conduct research, facilitate teaching and training, and offer policy advice in the cultural and creative sectors.
The joint chair gives value to researching and analysing the local specificity of the cultural and creative sector in relation to international and transnational frameworks. Research and policy work on entrepreneurial ecosystems that support artists and cultural workers to live their passion, earn income and have decent work is a core aspect of this Chair.
The UNESCO' Chairs are underpinned by the mission to support inclusive social development and intercultural dialogue.
Broader capacity building and exchange programmes
“This partnership not only bring forth the best of African research from a leading institution from the Global South but will also see collaborations with other institutions on the continent” says Joffe, whose expertise extend beyond academia into policy development, organisational management, capacity building and evaluation of cultural and creative programmes.
“Training the next generation of cultural researchers and policy contributors is paramount in driving sustainability and viability in the cultural and creative sectors,” she adds.
The Chair will explore the evolution of cultural entrepreneurship and policy in the global North and South and involve partners from various African nations in enhancing appreciation for UNESCO conventions and fostering a culture of shared learning and growth. All initiatives are also committed to gender equality and sustainable practices.
Schramme says the twin Chair offers a unique opportunity to our students for internationalisation
One of the first programmes supported by the UNESCO Chairs is the International Summer/Winter School programme in August 2024 where students from both regions will together research amateur arts and community arts in both regions from a comparative perspective.
“This field research will lead to recommendations to the Flemish Government and the South African partners as well. We are going to collaborate intensively and will share knowledge and experiences, with a focus on the decolonisation of curricula in both our universities. The exchange is partially funded by the Flemish Department of Culture, Youth and Media,” concludes Schramme.
The second programme called ‘Designing Futures: A Program on Cultural Leadership’ is supported by the Flemish Interuniversity Council and provides an opportunity for two editions of six laboratories for 10 cultural leaders from both countries. These cultural leaders can be seen as agents of transformation and their organisations as driving forces of change. They will be supported with leadership coaching to support an ecosystem that supports innovation.
The UNESCO Chairs look forward to further programmes that deepen learning, reflection and transformations for the cultural and creative sectors in both countries as well as with partner organisations across the Africa continent and in Europe.