Culture Funding Watch

Executive Director: Ouafa Belgacem
Established: 2014
Type: Social Enterprise
Focus Region: Africa
Sectors: Arts & Culture

OVERVIEW

Culture Funding Watch (CFW) aims at supporting art and culture practitioners and professionals’ access to resources and works toward sustainable, transparent, and smart financing of the cultural and creative industries in the MENA and Africa regions. It aims to do that by facilitating access to information, data, and resources, while also building capacities and convening researches and advocacy about cultural and creative industries (CCI) financing. CFW plays a mediator role, promoting the CCI and connecting artists, policymakers, and entrepreneurs to the resources they need at the regional, national, and international levels. CFW places the professionalization of resources mobilization for the CCI, access to information, and advocacy at the heart of its local and regional strategies.

MISSION

Provide a central hub serving as a platform for capacity building, information, and research in the field of financing the cultural sector in the MENA region and increasingly around the African continent. CFW aims to be a leading source of information and intelligence about resources mobilization. Through data collection, analysis, and training, it connects artists, policymakers, cultural managers, and philanthropists to the resources they need to effectively foster cultural sector development at national, regional, and international levels.

VISION

The vision of CFW is of a cultural sector enriched by an effective allocation of financial resources, informed public discourse about philanthropy, and broad understanding of the contributions of culture to transforming lives and to human development. Our dream is of the establishment of inclusive, responsible, and sustainable resources mobilization practices for the Arts and Culture sector, where all stakeholders have the necessary skills and information to actively participate in the elaboration and the monitoring of cultural policies.

PROGRAMS

• Build the first comprehensive database on funding for the cultural sector for the MENA region and Africa that collects and distributes relevant information, data, and documents
• Operate research and surveys programs designed to advance knowledge of cultural sector resources mobilization at every level
• Build and/or further develop effective, sustainable national, regional, and international funding watchdogs to play advocacy and lobbying roles within countries, regions, and internationally as appropriate
• Provoke debate, discussions, and theorizing around funding for arts, culture and creative industries and develop positions and leadership on such issues in the MENA region and Africa
• Facilitate the training and development of human resources required to develop resources mobilization capacities and effectively monitor financial resources to protect and promote art and culture in the MENA region and in Africa
• Mobilize at local, regional, and international levels resources to advocate for transparent, inclusive, and accountable governance of the cultural sector
• Undertake all relevant activities contributing to achieving CFW’s mission

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS