Nairobi, 26 – 29 November 2012 — FIM and Swedish union SMF held a joint regional conference in Nairobi on the capacity building of African musicians’ unions. The conference was attended by FIM President John Smith, and brought together representatives from 16 African countries, Sweden and Switzerland, as well as British society PPL. The Swedish Confederation LO-TCO, which funded the two FIM and SMF projects, was also represented.
A detailed assessment of work carried out over the past three years was presented and evaluated. Tangible results have been measured in all countries where the two projects were involved: Ghana, Senegal, Uganda, Kenya, Guinea, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Malawi and Sierra-Leone.
In line with LO-TCO recommendations, the two projects addressed issues on gender equality, the fight against HIV-AIDS, preventing conflicts and protecting the environment. Conference conclusions suggest that, for future projects, general-scope and targeted issues should continue to be combined.
During the second half of the conference, the regional group worked on drafting proposals to boost its dynamic impact, in particular making more efficient use of the existing online platform. The group also wanted to adopt a new acronym (FIM-AF) and a specific variation of the FIM logo. It also adopted a new coordination (Uganda and Senegal) whose role will be set out in writing by the end of 2012.
The excellent quality of welcome extended by the Kenyan KEMU organisation played a key role in the conference’s success.