The Nigerian government has been urged to create opportunities for women in the country’s emerging creative sector.
Belinda Holden, of the Guest Artists Space Foundation and Managing Director, Yinka Shonibare Foundation, YSF, made the appeal during panel discussions at the Abuja Photo Festival on Thursday.
Speaking during the Embassy of Sweden Art Session, themed ‘Evolving through the lens’, Holden stressed the need for women creatives to be empowered with funding and opportunities that will enable them to thrive in the creative sector.
“This event (Embassy of Sweden Art Session) is targeted at women who are in the creative sector – writers, photographers artists, painters and so on. The objective is to give such women the opportunity and platform to stand on their own or work collectively to actualize their talents and goals. This is to give them a stronger voice to tell their stories and the story of the society.
“These women are not given a voice so it is our goal to ensure that they are given a voice.
“The arts in general need more funding and support, and the global NGOs need to go beyond dishing out handouts to think of how to create societies that respect the artist as much as they respect the scientists and the technologists.
“There is need for more funding, to ensure that more opportunities are provided for women in the creative sector. But it goes beyond funding, the government and other stakeholders should strengthen the creative ecosystem,” she said.
Also speaking at the 9th Abuja Photo Festival, a representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, Yachat Nuhu, spoke of plans by the organization to partner the Nigerian government to use virtual story telling to curb fake news.
Nuhu stressed that media and information literacy must become a way of life for everyone and not just an initiative for a select group of stakeholders.
She said the organisation has been building the capacities of various stakeholders across Nigeria, including traditional and religious leaders, community media practitioners, journalists, and policymakers, to strengthen their ability to identify and counter misinformation.
“We must understand the power of what we are working with. A single photograph can tell powerful stories and that is why we must all be responsible communicators.
“Let me make this clear, media and information literacy is not a project, it is a movement and everyone must join this movement,” she stated.
According to her, the Nigerian government, with the support of UNESCO, has established a Category 2 International Centre for Media and Information Literacy, the first of its kind in Africa.
Nuhu said the centre will serve as an international platform for training, research, and advocacy on media literacy and responsible information use.
She explained that UNESCO’s approach prioritizes community media, noting that they are vital in reaching grassroots audiences and curbing the spread of misinformation, especially ahead of the forthcoming elections.
“If you want to reach the grassroots, you must empower community media because information passes through them,” the UNESCO official added.
