“This not only creates employment opportunities for these young guys but it provides a platform through which we can share our content with the rest of the world.”/FILE
Speaking when he opened the 4th Annual Broadcast Film and Music Africa Conference (BFMA) on Wednesday, Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Arts and Culture Hassan Wario expressed optimism for the growth and development of the industry.
“The government’s deliberate policy to push for local content has seen the majority of TV stations incorporate more home-grown programming. The demand for these programs is ever on the rise especially among the younger generation,” Wario said.
“This not only creates employment opportunities for these young guys but it provides a platform through which we can share our content with the rest of the world.”
Wario pushed for creative and performing arts to be emphasised at the educational level in order to realise their potential. He urged broadcasters and content creators to brainstorm on how to maximise on the wide spectrum that digital transmission will offer.
“When creative cultural industries will be the drivers of our curricula in schools and in other institutions of learning, Kenya will have broken the barrier that hinders her economic potential,” he stated.
Speaking on the issue of the rapidly changing digital media, he said, “Kenya is soon migrating from the analogue platform of broadcasting to the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) platform.
We would like to encourage all broadcasters and content producers to take advantage of this vast platform to expose our diverse cultures and film potential to the world.”
“The Film and performing arts industry in Kenya has grown to become one of the major sectors providing job opportunities to the youths. Unlike yesteryears when Kenyans didn’t appreciate local films, the trend has changed and there is much to expect from this industry.”
BFMA is a two-day conference themed ‘Building a world class digital media industry in Africa’ that seeks to explore all avenues through which the government, stakeholders in the broadcast, film and music industry, aspiring artistes and scriptwriters as well as content developers can explore to leverage and enhance their creative talents on the world stage through the rapidly changing digital media.
The 2013 conference which was held at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre brought together over 130 local and international experts making presentations, participating in panel discussions or leading training workshops.
The function was attended by over 1,000 film, broadcast and content development professionals from Africa.
