REGIONAL ARTERIAL NETWORK WEST AFRICA MEETING
On Friday, February 7, 2020 was held at the Institut Kôrè des Arts et Métiers (IKAM) of Ségou/Mali, under the chairmanship of Mr. Fousseyni Diakité (President of Kya/ Arterial Network Mali) a working meeting of the Pan-African network Arterial Network West Africa. This meeting is part of the will of the sub-regional network to take the news of the executive office newly installed in Abidjan during the General Assembly of the cultural organization.
The meeting held on the sidelines of the 2020 edition of Ségou’Art and in partnership with the Festival sur le Niger Foundation brought together several West African countries were represented and observers such as Central and North Africa.
On the agenda were the following items:
- Presentation of the new executive board ;
- Presentation of the balance sheet of the organization ;
- Design of a sub-regional action plan ;
Were present at the said general assembly (see attached attendance list).
- Presentation of the EXCO
At the opening of the meeting, the president, Mr. Pierre Claver Mabiala, first took the floor to welcome everyone but also took the opportunity to present his office to the West African actors of Arterial who were present. He spoke of the difficulties encountered by the continental network under the mandate of the previous bureau. He also explained the peculiarity of the number of representatives per region in his new office: one representative per region instead of two as usual. For a departure the number of members in the EXCO is 3, the two others will join the office soon.
The intervention of the president was then acclaimed, followed by the congratulations of the cultural actors present. There were three members of the EXCO, the President himself, Mr. Limane Kane, Mr. Fousseyni Diakité. In turn, each took the floor to introduce himself and wish every success to the proceedings.
- Presentation of the balance sheet
The second item on the agenda was the presentation of the organization’s balance sheet. The President presented the current state of the network in a transparent manner. Then he made a point of thanking very sincerely the Kya Network, the network of the cultural organizations of Mali for its support and its permanent watch for a strong and resilient Arterial. In fact, the Kya Network made it possible to carry out the audit and to open a new head office since it no longer existed. Special mention was made to the former presidents of Arterial Mr. Mamou DAFFE and Mrs. Korkor AMARTEIFIO for their assistance and their unfailing support for the revitalization of the organization.
- Design of a sub-regional action plan
Arterial Network West Africa, in order to be efficient, decided to design a clear roadmap for its sub-region. Thus, under the enlightened advice of the godmother of the said region, Korkor AMARTEIFIO a number of activities classified in three major categories namely: short, medium and long term were edited (see annex).
The round table allowed to see various festival profiles and also intentions of collaboration. The President wished that there would be more collaboration between actors from the sub-region but also from the rest of the continent. Some festivals that are already working with other countries were encouraged to continue their collaboration.
A sub-group of five members was designated to draft the roadmap based on the interventions and comments made by the participants. This work was adopted in plenary under the assistance of the sponsor. Mali was also designated to host the headquarters of Arterial West Africa for a period of two years.
The plan of action is planned to be adopted as a prelude to Burkina Faso’s national culture week next March in Bobo Dioulasso.
