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Conference about the role of music in the cultural diplomacy
Ambassador of South Africa in Bucharest Jabu Mbalula stated on Thursday at the conference called "Connecting the World through Music," within "the World Experience Festival" that musicians and music played a special role in his country, during the apartheid period, because this art conveyed the social struggle of those times.
The diplomat described his country as "a confluence of various cultures" and talked about the musical richness of South Africa.
"During the apartheid period, musicians and music played a special role in shaping up the aspirations and vision of a country that the South Africans wanted. These occurred in the context of some troubled times, but later, this aspect was to our advantage. People like Miriam Makeba (...) have sent messages all over the world regarding the situation of South Africa. Music is part of the life of South Africans," Jabu Mbalula.
The conference which took place at the ArCuB and aimed to gather the confessions regarding the role of music in the cultural diplomacy and the development of cities.
Director of the UNESCO City of Music Mannheim Rainer Kern spoke about the idea of creating a network of artists, as well as about how important are working and sharing your own creativity.
"If you are creative in your room, it's a great experience, but it would be nice to share these ideas, then include them in a network where they can circulate - this is one of the UNESCO Creative Cities ideas. Don't leave your ideas in your own room, or in your own city or country, share them with the whole world," he said.
Rainer Kern stated that belonging to a network means a lot of work and willingness to meet the needs of the dialogue partners.
"(...) It's not about having a Facebook account, it's about meeting people, going to them, going to meetings that may not be in your own country or, perhaps, not even on your continent. If you don't like to travel, you cannot be part of a network," Rainer Kern pointed out.
He illustrated how culture unites people by presenting a project carried out on the internet between Bogota (Colombia) and Mannheim (Germany). Children groups, coordinated by artists, created together a hip-hop song after numerous online discussions.
"They haven't met, but due to the internet, they could create hip-hop songs together," Kern stated.