The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), an economic development program of the African Union, launched regional Arts Education Conferences in 2015 to bring together various stakeholders to share learning experiences and best practices and work together in a consultative manner towards developing a continental framework to guide the implementation of Arts Education in Africa. The 1st Arts Education Conference was held in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2015. Building on the success of this Conference, the 2nd Arts Education Conference took place in Egypt from 23 – 25 May 2017. Dubbed “the Cairo Conference,” it was produced by NEPAD in collaboration with the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt. The Cairo Conference sought to promote the cultivation of innovation and creativity for social cohesion and a unified economy. It highlighted the importance of using indigenous cultural expressions to develop the thinking and problem-solving skills of African learners and researchers.
During the Cairo Conference, participating countries delivered national reports on participation rates in Arts Education across the spectrum from the lower levels all the way to tertiary level, review of Education Policy and how it approaches Arts Education, status of Learning, Teaching, Support Material (LTSM) on Arts Education (including E-learning materials), advocacy and formalization of Arts Education in Curricula as well as assessing teacher support in this area to improve teaching of the Arts.
David Andrew (Johannesburg Working Group) and Emma Wolukau-Wanambwa (Kampala Working Group) both attended as speakers, with support from the floor from the Cairo Working Group.
