Tunis: Following its 9th World Summit in Sweden in May 2023, the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA) will meet in the Republic of Korea in May 2025.
The 10th World Summit on Arts and Culture will be co-organised with the Arts Council Korea (ARKO) in Seoul from May 28 to 30, 2025, the Federation announced in its latest newsletter. The opening ceremony will be held on Tuesday, May 27, 2025.
The Arts Council of Korea has launched an open call for artists, producers and engineers to participate in this 10th World Arts and Culture Expo. The deadline for applications is March 28, 2024 via the following link: httpss://www.arko.or.kr/develop/board/view/601?page= and cid=714623
For three days, 100 participants will be organised into teams according to their respective artistic and technical roles. They will work together to generate innovative ideas for the convergence of art and technology.
Selected candidates will be supported on an international research trip to visit institu
tions specialising in the convergence of art and technology around the world.
Tunisia, represented by the Ministry of Culture, is a member of the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA). This is a global network of arts councils, ministries of culture and government agencies that promote arts and culture, with member institutions representing more than 70 countries.
Registration for the 10th World Summit will open in June 2024. The Summit brings together leading policy makers, government representatives, researchers, innovators, managers and practitioners from the arts, culture, creative industries and related sectors from around the world.
The new partnership with the Korea Arts Council, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, “will allow the international community to come together to debate critical issues as we seek a more sustainable future,” said Magdalena Moreno Mujica, Executive Director of IFACCA.
The 10th World Summit will also be a key milestone in the journey
to Mondiacult 2025, she stressed.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse
Women farmers, and pastoralists are slowly embracing indigenous vegetable farming as a sustainable alternative livelihood with high nutritional value.
In the arid and semi-arid regions of Kajiado County, a quiet agricultural revolution is taking root especially with the push for cultivating African Leafy Vegetables (ALVs) not only as a means of diversifying income sources but also a response to the challenges posed by climate change affecting these regions.
Kajiado County, which is traditionally known for its reliance on pastoralism, is now breaking new ground by encouraging the cultivation of indigenous vegetables.
According to experts, Indigenous vegetables are important for food insecurity, malnutrition reduction and therapeutic in not only semi and arid Counties but also in East and sub-Saharan Africa countries.
Most of indigenous vegetables are tolerant to climate change variability than exotic vegetables but in most developing countries, indigenous vegetables are underutilized or neglected.
Pauline
Kariuki from Rural Women Network says Indigenous vegetables, commonly referred to as African Leafy Vegetables, have gained popularity due to their exceptional nutritional value.
Varieties such as African Nightshade (managu), amaranthus (terere), spider plant (saget), and slender leaf (mitoo) are becoming staples in Kenyan diets.
Ms. Kariuki told KNA that the push to mainstream these vegetables in Kajiado County where she is working with rural women is driven by initiatives targeting women’s groups, aiming not only to improve overall nutrition but also to provide alternative livelihoods.
During a recent Draft Africa Leafy Vegetable Value Chain 5 year strategy by the Rural Women Network has shed light on the challenges being faced by Counties in fully embracing indigenous vegetable farming
Issues such as the availability of quality seeds, capacity building for farmers, and post-production holding storage were highlighted. Kajiado County, at the forefront of this initiative, aims to address these challenges
through the integration of the strategy into its agricultural policies.
According to Kariuki, the strategy which has been prepared by the Rural Women Network, an umbrella body that caters to the welfare of women and youth in Kajiado County once ratified promises to empower women groups at the grassroots level of ASAL Communities.
The County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Livestock, Fisheries and Irrigation in Kajiado Jacktone Achola emphasizes on the importance of a shift towards growing, embracing and eating leafy vegetables, particularly in the face of changing climatic conditions in ASAL.
‘The need to move away from overreliance on livestock becomes apparent as climate change continues to impact the availability of grazing land and water resources’, he says.
By promoting the cultivation of these crops, Kajiado County is taking a step towards building a more sustainable and climate-resilient agricultural sector and the women in the area not only securing alternative livelihoods but contributing t
o a more sustainable and climate resilient future.
In Kiambu County , Ndeiya area which is semi-arid, and is therefore considered a hardship area, women have also been embracing growing indigenous vegetables to mitigate the impact of climate change and also address matters of food security.
The shift towards diversified agriculture especially for women fosters a sense of empowerment and self-reliance among communities in the ASAL regions.
Kiambu recently was among five Counties named to benefit from a Ksh 1.5 billion during a five year project on production and consumption of vegetables to improve the nutrition of households.
The project dubbed ‘Vegetable for All’ and being steered by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) aims to contribute to improving nutritious diets through increased consumption of safe vegetables and also greater use of vegetables in the Kenyan cuisine.
Another study done on factors contributing to Production and Consumption of African Leafy Vegetables (ALVs) in Kiambu a
nd Kirinyaga Counties in Kenya by the department of Agricultural Science and Technology, Kenyatta University, Production and utilization of the ALVs among the small scale farmers more so women is a promising venture not only for nutrition and health benefit but also as a source of income .
Source: Kenya News Agency