Zimbabwean artists attend WOMEX in Lisbon

Arts practitioner Sandra Ndebele is one of the Zimbabwean artists attending WOMEX in Portugal. File image

Audrey Galawu

A Zimbabwean delegation led by National Arts Council of Executive Director, Nicholas Moyo has left Harare for Lisbon, Portugal, to attend the 2022 World Music Expo. The musical fiesta is running from October 19 to 23.

Facilitated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, the trip is aimed at amplifying the implementation of the Zimbabwe Music strategy by creating networking opportunities for practitioners in the local music industry.

The delegation includes practitioners from the music sector as well as government representatives, NACZ board member and Music Strategy National Team members Melody Zambuko (Music Crossroads Academy), Maxwell Mugaba (music promoter) and musician/dancer and actress Sandra Ndebele.

In a statement, NACZ Marketing and Publicity Manager Rodney Ruwende said the event is devoted to facilitate and promote the global music industry and providing a platform to connect and share experiences.

“The trip is expected to underline the importance of policies to artists as they will get to interact with practitioners from different countries and share experiences about the operations of the music sector in the various participating nations,” he said.

The event will enable new partnerships across trans-continental markets and an open economic and international cultural dialogue.

WOMEX is the most international and culturally diverse music meeting in the world featuring traditional fair talks, films and showcases concerts with over 2 600 professionals from 90 countries.

UNESCO organised an introductory workshop for the group where virtual tools to help in trip preparations, networking, and inter-cultural communication were shared in order to enhance the participation at the global music fair.

Melody Zambuko (Zimbabwe), David Alexander (South Africa), Dude Sarr (Senegal) and Rabby Jones (Ghana) are among the industry experts to speak at WOMEX.