Held in Dakar, Senegal from November 14th - to 16th, the conference saw Business and Arts South Africa CEO, Michelle Constant, take part in the panel on Funding Arts: Trends & Challenges alongside Ibrahima Sow (Senegal), (Valmont Layne (Arterial Network, South Africa) and Michelle Coffey (Lambent Foundation USA).
Constant's presentation include an overview of BASA's model - including its education and connecting programmes - the Etana Mentorship Programme, BASA Supporting Grants and the 15th Annual Business Day BASA Awards supported by Anglo American.
However, of real interest, was BASA's broad research work - most significantly the bi-annual BASA Artstrack Research (released this year) and the BASA Arts Sponsorship Management Toolkit which was launched in 2012.
Constant's presentation on the UNESCO funded BASA Arts Sponsorship Management Toolkit (which allows sponsors to measure the impact of sponsorship, among other tools), proved to be of particular interest to delegates at the African Creative Economy Conference.
"There is real interest in the possibility of taking the Toolkit into Francophone Africa and we look forward to engaging with partners on this," comments Constant.
For Constant and the BASA team, taking part in the African Creative Economy Conference is yet another part of Business and Arts South Africa's broader strategy to grow partnerships in the SADC region around the BASA model. Already, organisations in Zimbabwe, Botswana and Zambia have participated with BASA to include aspects of BASA's multi-pronged model in business and arts engagement in those territories. This includes the support of a Motswana Intern in South Africa, to grow deeper understanding of the model.
"Presenting at the conference was a wonderful opportunity to highlight the activities that BASA has been engaged in over the past year - especially in the area of research," adds Constant.
"We very much hope that other countries on the continent will use entire or aspects of the model for their own future engagement between business and the arts, and look forward to supporting this in 2013.
About Business and Arts South Africa NPC:
Business and Arts South Africa NPC is an internationally recognised South African development agency which incorporates the arts into, and contributes to, corporates' commercial success. With a suite of integrated programmes, Business and Arts South Africa NPC encourages mutually beneficial partnerships between business and the arts. Business and Arts South Africa NPC was founded in 1997 as a joint initiative of government and the business sector, to secure the future development of the arts industry in South Africa, through increased corporate sector involvement. Established as a Non-Profit Company, Business and Arts South Africa NPC is accountable to both government and its business members.
