The approval of charter of demands for the National Cultural Policy 2018 by the previous government would pave way for greater harmony in the country, said Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) Director General Syed Jamal Shah at the launching of the recently approved charter of demands for the new national cultural policy on Thursday.
He said over 500 participating artists of the national artists convention from across the country put up these recommendations in February that were approved by the outgoing government. “Now the task is to develop a framework for its implementation in letter and spirit. The new cultural policy is all inclusive and a participatory document having inputs and commitments from all federal and provincial stakeholders,” he said.
He said artists from all over Pakistan spent marathon sessions at PNCA from February 24-26, 2018. “After thorough deliberations, they made comprehensive recommendations regarding uplift of visual arts, including government policy, educational reforms and welfare of artists,” he said, adding that the cornerstone of this cultural policy envisages a constitutional guarantee of the fundamental right of the freedom of peaceful artistic expression for all forms of art be it visual, film, television, theatre, radio, music and dance, tangible, intangible and vernacular heritage.
Jamal Shah said with such an amendment, the country will ensure that all persons or institutions and communities involved in artistic endeavours will have the requisite protection from harassment and extortion. “If the creative economy is to be truly established, it should have the status of a nascent industry and given all the incentives and tax exemptions that such a business model requires,” he said, adding the he PNCA, as facilitator to all practitioners of every form of art, will set up an online digital database which will include the circulation of entitlements, benefits and information of the timetable of events and opportunities for research, training, capacity building, acquisition of technology and enhancement of the marketing skills for creative products that are available both domestically and internationally.
Published in Daily Times, June 8th 2018.