Culture Fund of Zimbabwe Trust is a not-for-profit that envisions a world in which Culture and the Arts, imbued with Africaness, thrive and are sustainable; contributing to wealth creation for African societies and where we harness the power of the creative arts to help positively change lives.
Background History
Culture Fund serves society as an active social transformation agent working within communities through investments in innovative and sustainable creative sector capacities. A unique enabler within Zimbabwean and African societies, it helps the mainstreaming of innovative solutions into sustainable Culture for Development interventions and extends sub-grants to the creative sectors. Over the last decade, it has supported social change agents through more than 1,000 innovative creative sector projects - boosting creative economies; strengthening Community Based Organisations (CBOs) capacities, assisting women and youth empowerment interventions, enhancing community rights and livelihoods capacities, promoting peacebuilding, intercultural dialogue and social social cohesion in Zimbabwe and Africa, fostering citizen rights awareness, among other programmes. Culture Fund was born out collaborative processes searching for sustainable development solutions for Zimbabwe arts, culture and heritage sector. This was around 2003. Zimbabwe creative sector players and the government of Sweden, through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), convened and facilitated co-creation spaces that resulted in the extension of financial and technical endowments to the Culture Fund institution.
Since then, a wide range of development partners such as UNESCO, the European Union, DANIDA, UNDP, PEPFAR, Hivos, the Government of Zimbabwe and National Council and Community Based Organisations (CBOs) have believed and invested resources into the Culture Fund's value proposition. The Culture Fund is currently poised strategically for a new era, new technologies and new pathways to impact society in more sustainable ways.
Goals
Culture Fund will seek to achieve the following impacts:
Zimbabwe and African youth are transformed by arts and culture creativity
Zimbabwean and African arts and creativity are thriving within the new digital environment
Arts, culture and creativity are valued as levers for diversity and Africa pride
Attain Culture-driven wealth creation
Drive economic transformation through Culture
Strategic Pillars | Pathways to the future
Culture Fund has framed four strategic pillars to guide its efforts, investments and plans over the next 3-5 years.
Advocacy and influence
Governance and leadership
New ways of programming
Diversifying programme funding sources
Value Proposition
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Deliver support and funding, to the Zimbabwe and African creative sector; focusing on youth-driven work accessible through digital environments
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Promote and support focused conversations on Culture for Development and Cultural and Creative Industries; ensuring this dialogue contributes to sustainable development
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Value adaptability, agility and innovative approaches that provide solutions to societal challenges and deliver sustainable social impacts through tested approaches such as Culture Fund’s Creative Knowledge Toolkit (CKT).
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Seek partnerships with professionally-run organisations and entities that are held accountable and are transparent in presenting their programming and business models to the public
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Value deepened diversity and inclusion as important and enriching ingredients to mutually beneficial aspirations within societies
In offering this value proposition, Culture Fund seeks to work within society to re-imagine our world, profit from focused conversations, join hands in innovating and co-creating within collaborative spaces while exploring and profiting from the dimensions and nexus of arts, culture, commerce and development. It seeks to continue positioning itself as a leading enabler and provider of technical and financial support for the arts and cultural sectors in Zimbabwe and the region, implementing Culture for Development and sub-granting projects that are pivotal to local cultures and creativity dimensions. Culture Fund leverages its robust fund management capabilities and deploys home-grown approaches such as the Creative Knowledge Toolkit (CKT). It seeks to remain relevant in the society it serves; by designing and implementing initiatives that respond to local and global shifts in demographics, technology, politics and the economy. Most of all, Culture Fund believes that its efforts must meaningfully impact communities and societies, arts, cultural and creative sectors in Zimbabwe and beyond.
Creative Knowledge Toolkit (CKT)
Culture Fund’s Creative Knowledge Toolkit (CKT) Approach or Advocacy Framework was developed and first deployed under the Culture Fund’s DREAMS Innovation Challenge programme; to equip creative producers of Information Education and Communication (IEC) materials and deliverers of such materials in Culture for Development programmes. It is now deployed under the CultureACTIONs project - a Culture Fund project supported by the government of Sweden is designed around a consortium of six Community Based Organisations. The CKT addresses cultural contexts and identifies any misrepresentations in Culture - identified through baseline study and other research tools. Creative methods and assets ideal for community engagements are designed and deployed to challenge retrogressive cultural misconceptions through a holistic process that addresses three dimensions of human empowerment; the body, the mind and the soul.
The CKT challenges negative cultural practices; providing solid arguments based on Culture, that go beyond just challenging the negativity of such cultural beliefs and practices. It provides evidence and tools to discredit such beliefs; using the very cultural context in which they are claimed to be based. The CKT ‘takes the battle against negative cultural beliefs, norms and practices to home ground’ by debunking the authenticity of such arguments in Culture. It is deployed to enable a positive psychological movement that affects behaviors and community cultural practices; paving collective rethinking towards ways for addressing pertinent challenges such as Gender Based Violence (GBV), Child Marriages and Climate Change within targeted communities.
Debunked culture and tradition based gender oppressive falsehoods;
regarding GBV, Child Marriages, Climate Change
Increased knowledge of culture
Increased empowerment to act
Reduced vulnerability in choices
Creative Knowledge Toolkit
Approach Delivery in Culture Fund Development Programmes[1]
Starting With What is Known:
Establish where targeted communities are at regarding their knowledge of what the cultural position is in relation to particular aspects of Gender Based Violence (GBV), Child Marriages and Climate Change.
Motivation – Creating Interest in the New:
Generate curiosity and excitement at the possibility of challenging norms regarding Gender Based Violence (GBV), Child Marriages and Climate Change.
Exposition/Delivering Content:
Provide the new information and explanations behind the new ways of looking at cultural norms to empower communities, women and girls in particular.
Ensuring Assimilation By Direction of Activity And Criticism:
Pointing out how the new insights provide alternative ways of approaching the cultural norms around the nexus of Gender Based Violence (GBV), Child Marriages and Climate Change; and inviting debate and engagement with the new thinking so as to consolidate information and changed approaches to engagement with cultural debates.
Inviting Imitation and Prompting Action:
Consolidating sessions with signature advocacy messages as developed.
[1]Based on Ubuntuway adaptation of the 5 principles of pedagogy: https://www.google.co.zw/amp/s/edtechnow.net/2013/05/12/pedagogy/amp/
Culture Fund Board of Trustees
Nellie Tiyago-Jinjika - Board Chairperson
Eunice Njovana - Board Vice-Chairperson
Gilmore Q. Khumalo
Mungai Lenneiye (PhD)
Prof. Gerald Mazarire
Abigail Mawocha
Janet Hwata
Ben Mbanga
Prof. Munyaradzi Manyanga
*Farai Mpfunya - Executive Director
Culture Fund Team
Rachel Lioga - Head of Finance and Administration
Projects and Programmes
Simbarashe Mudhokwani
Themba Mthunzi
Molyn Marimo
Eden Chisvo
Lisa Kwainona
Nomore Tembo - Driver/Office Caretaker
