Remarks by H.E. Paola Amadei, Ambassador of the European Union to Lesotho at the Lesotho Rap Archive Project Workshop

Allow me to pay my respects to His Majesty King Letsie III and Her Majesty the Queen ‘Masenate,

The Right Honourable the Prime Minister, Ntsokoane Sam Matekane,

Honourable Ministers in His Majesty’s Cabinet, in particular,

The Honourable Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Hon. Limpho Tau

The Honourable Minister of Tourism, Sports, Arts and Culture, Hon. Motlatsi Maqelepo

The Honourable Minister of Environment and Forestry, Hon. Letsema Adontsi

The Honourable Minister of Education and Training, Prof. Ntoi Rapapa

Their Excellences Heads of Diplomatic missions and members of the diplomatic community,

Representatives of Government Ministries,

Representatives of Civil Society Organisations,

Representatives of the Media,

Bo-‘M’e le Bo-Ntate,

All participants in today’s event,

Khotsong,

It is a great pleasure to be here today at this conference organised by the GEM Institute as part of the Building the Ecosystem of Creative and Cultural Industry for the Film and Design Sectors in Southern Africa (BECCI-SA) project, which has been supported by the Sound Connects Fund.

Sound Connects Fund was launched in June 2021 and is a multifaceted initiative aimed to accelerate development and increase the capacity of the cultural and creative sectors in Southern Africa. It has been implemented by the Music in Africa Foundation (MIAF) in partnership with Goethe-Institut and was made possible with LSL 57 million funding from the ACP-EU Culture programme, a project implemented by the Organisation of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the European Union (EU).

In 2023, two Lesotho-based organisations, the GEM Institute and online radio station, Sky Alpha HD, became beneficiaries of the Sound Connects Find in 2023. The two are among 14 beneficiaries selected out of over 120 applicants from eight countries in Southern Africa to receive grants totalling €873, 000 (approx. LSL 17 million).

Managed by Sky Alpha HD, the Lesotho Rap Archives project received a grant of nearly LSL 1 million and aims to explore the history and the current status of Rap Music and Hip Hop culture in Lesotho using the mediums of film, audio and text.

GEM Institute in collaboration with the The Kanye Bulletin on the BECCI-SA project – which we are here today to celebrate – received a grant of over LSL 1.3 million to promote cultural heritage through creativity of the film and fashion sectors.

In 2022, the Morija Museum and Archives embarked on a year-long project titled Reappropriating Lesotho's Cultural Heritage Through New Media, also under the Sound Connects Fund. The aim of the project was to empower music teachers, musicians and artists on the use of seven traditional Basotho musical instruments, namely, sekebeku, lesiba, mokhope, lekope, thomo, ‘mamokhorong and setolotolo.

Bo-‘M’e le Bo-Ntate, cultural diversity is an integral part of the values of the European Union. The EU reamains strongly committed to promoting a global order based on peace, the rule of law, freedom of expression, mutual understanding and respect for fundamental rights. This involves a commitment to both promoting 'international cultural relations', through the support and assistance the EU provides to third countries, and supporting the promotion of the Union and the diverse cultures of EU Member States through 'cultural diplomacy.' As a key partner of the United Nations (UN), the EU cooperates closely with UNESCO – present also there today – to safeguard the world's cultural heritage.

Far too often cultural and creative industries are not given the right recognition that they deserve. Indeed, culture matters to our economies and to our growth – and the statistics on this is clear. Global trade in creative products has more than doubled over the last decade, despite the global recession. Cultural and creative industries represent around three per cent of the world GDP and provide 30 million jobs.

Cultural and creative industries therefore hold great potential for countries like Lesotho that seek to diversify their economies and leapfrog into one of the most dynamic sectors of the world economy.

Bo-‘M’e le Bo-Ntate, the European Union intends to remain committed to promoting creative and cultural industries, and will continue to promote and support cultural cooperation across borders, audio-visual creations, inter-cultural exchanges.

Kea leboha.