Selam Ethiopia held a press conference at Elilliy on November 12, 2024, to announce the distribution of researches specifically “Baseline Study and Actor Mapping for Public Investment in Ethiopia’s Culture Sector” research, to concerned government bodies and those working in the arts sector. The research was made as part of Connect for Culture Africa (CFCA), a regional initiative that aims to transform Africa’s Arts, culture and heritage through advocacy and lobbying for increased public investment with a goal of African Union member countries allocating at least 1% of the national budget to the sector by 2030.
Speaking on the press conference Dr. Yismah Tesige, lead researcher of “Baseline Study and Actor Mapping for Public Investment in Ethiopia’s Culture Sector” stated ‘’in addition to budget allocation, there’s also a problem of proper utilization of allocated budget and new infrastructures that have been built and are being built in Addis when put into context of the whole country are not fairly distributed.’’ Dr.Yismah also stated that there are no institutions to measure the physical performance carried out in the sector and justifications presented on budget hearing to request for more budget for the sector need to be strong and well thought-out.
Country Director of Selam Ethiopia Mr. Samuel Mulugeta explained the “Baseline Study and Actor Mapping for Public Investment in Ethiopia’s Culture Sector” study has recommended awareness creation and advocacy these will be carried out in Addis Ababa and regional cities. Mr. Samuel added that ‘’Policy dialogues will also be held as well E-learning to reach a wider audience and a podcast is also among the works so that the public can understand about public funding and support it.’’
When asked about the 1% budget allocation, Mr. Teshome Wondimu found of Selam clarified that the budget allocation is not an obligation but rather a commitment. And the responsibility regarding the budget allocation lied among people within the Ministry of Culture. Mr. Teshome added ‘’we’ll keep bringing up the pledge in our dialogues with officials but the media and professionals need to do so as well.’’
In response to a question about revenue from museums and parks, Dr. Yismah responded that they specifically focused on the budget allocated by the government to the sector not on the revenue collected from investments. And if they want to look at the sector in the next five years, this will show them where the sector was five years back.
