Grantees of the Sound Connects Fund (SCF) will gather at the Sound Connects Conference kicking off 31st January 2024 in Maputo, Mozambique. The three-day conference, to be held at Galeria Porto, will bring together experts from various sectors of the creative industry, international funders, regional players, and cultural organizations that have received support from the Sound Connects Fund over the past three years.

The ACP-UE Culture Regional meeting will serve as a platform for grantees from Southern Africa to participate in three days of enriching activities, knowledge sharing, networking, and the exchange of success stories. The gathering of #SoundConnectsFund grantees is poised to further amplify the fund's impact, fostering continued collaboration and innovation in the cultural and artistic landscape of the region.

Since its launch in 2021, the #SoundConnectsFund has supported 36 awardees nine Southern African countries, including three organizations based in Lesotho. The rest of the beneficiaries came from Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Fostering cultural and artistic collaborations in Southern Africa

The Morija Museum and Archives, GEM Institute, and Sky Alpha HD have led diverse and multifaceted projects that fostered cultural and artistic collaborations across the region.

The first project, 'Reappropriating Lesotho’s Heritage through New Media' by Morija Museum and Archives aimed to preserve Basotho traditional music instruments such as the thomo, lesiba or sekhankula.

Collecting and archiving materials related to Lesotho's hip hop and famo culture and history, Sky Alpha HD's 'Lesotho Rap Archive' project explored the history and the current status of rap and famo music and the culture in Lesotho using the mediums of film, audio and text.

The GEM Institute leads the BECCI - SA GEM Institute Initiative that aims to promote cultural heritage through film and fashion. One of the objectives of the BECCI - SA GEM Institute Initiative is the development of a film titled #LiEmeKaLekoa, currently in production.

The impact of the Sound Connects Fund extends to other collaborative projects, such as the House on Fire's CollaboNation, which facilitated the creation of new music by Morena Leraba from Lesotho and Mokoomba from Zimbabwe. The bands performed the new music together at the 2023 MTN BUSHFIRE festival, as well as in a music video for the song.

The #SoundConnects Conference will offer live sessions that can be accessed via the following links:

• Facebook: https://bit.ly/3SDIO5b
• YouTube: https://bit.ly/3vOOErh

Background

The Sound Connects Fund (SCF) is a collaborative effort between the Music In Africa Foundation and the Goethe Institute, financially supported by the ACP-EU Culture Programme, which is funded by the European Union and implemented by the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS).

For more information and for updates, follow us on Facebook @EUinLesotho and X (former Twitter) @EUinLesotho.

Media contact

Mookho Makhetha, Delegation of the European Union in Lesotho mookho.makhetha@eeas.europa.eu