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Safeguarding Creativity on Digital Platforms at the UVA Freedom Vibes Summit

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Safeguarding Creativity on Digital Platforms at the UVA Freedom Vibes Summit

Unchained Vibes Africa (UVA) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Media and Creativity Committee, in collaboration with Elixir Trust Foundation are thrilled to announce the next edition of the highly-interactive programme– Freedom Vibes Summit. Kicking off by 9:30am on Thursday May 30th, 2024, venue is at the Kongi’s Harvest Art Gallery, Freedom Park, Lagos Island.

The one-day hybrid summit is themed “Safeguarding Creativity on Digital Platforms” and will serve as platform to thoroughly discuss and bring to the front burners trendy developments and other pivotal issues bordering creativity, censorship, and policy reforms within the Nigerian creative ecosystem.

Featuring an array of guest speakers from the different government agencies, civil society organizations, lawyers, skit-makers, filmmakers, musicians, journalists and key stakeholders in the creative industry, some pertinent questions that form basis for the summit are: (a) Do artists have the right to use police, armed forces, and other security agencies’ uniforms as costumes in their productions? (b) Do they really need permission before they can portray them in their productions? (c)What does the law say? (d)Are there exceptions for artists? (e)And in which areas do we need reforms?

“In recent times, there has been a ban on using uniforms of law enforcement and security agencies in movies and skits”, revealed UVA’s Executive Producer, Ayodele Ganiu. He continued: “According to the Police, it is illegal under Section 251 of the Nigerian Criminal Code and Section 133 of the Penal Code to use police uniforms in movies and skits without permission. The police also say that wrong portrayal of the police institution undermines the integrity of the force and dampens the morale of its personnel. Therefore, permission is required before the portrayal, failure of which leads to arrest and prosecution. These threats have created fear in the minds of many artists who want to use their works for correcting the ills in our society.”

Ganiu spoke further acknowledging that while government has a responsibility to enforce law and order, such action must meet national, regional, and international human rights standards. 

“Section 39 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees the right to freedom of expression provided that, ‘‘every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impact ideas and information without interference.’’ Section 110 of the Criminal Code cited by the Police also exempts artistes from criminal liability in wearing uniforms of these security and law enforcement agencies when the purpose is for artistic performance or public entertainment. Practitioners are concerned about arbitrary enforcement of policies and regulation of content as reforms of this nature, in a democracy, require proper engagements with all stakeholders”, Ganiu added.

It is against this backdrop that UVA and NBA Media and Creativity Committee in collaboration with Elixir Trust Foundation are bringing all stakeholders together through a summit involving skit-makers, filmmakers, musicians, theatre practitioners, comedians, poets, cultural policy experts and other practitioners in the Nigerian creative sector and civil society organizations to facilitate meaningful dialogue with government officials on the need for policy reforms that will address the issues and concerns around recent government actions and policies that may undermine creativity and threaten artistic freedom.

Expected Speakers at the 2024 Freedom Vibes Summit include– Pro-democracy campaigner and founder Sahara Reporters Omoyele Sowore, film producer and president, Directors’ Guild of Nigeria (DGN) Dr. Victor Okhai, motivational speaker, and President, FOM Foundation Eugene C. Onyibo and Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on Justice Reform and ICT/Digital and Innovative Technology Fernandez Marcus-Obiene.

Other speakers expected to headline the event are: Veteran Nollywood Actors, Norbert Young and Francis Onwochei, founder, Elixir Trust Foundation (ETF) Emmanuel Ikule, the Director-General National Film and Video Censors Board Shaibu Husseini represented by its Lagos Representative and President, Screen Writers Guild of Nigeria (SWGN) Yinka Ogun, Nigerian Hip-hop Icon Eedris Abdulkareem, Musician and Chief Executive Officer of the Lakreem Entertainment, Myke Pam,  Content Creators and Comedians, Agun Oluwaseun (a.k.a Ogbeni Adan), Josh Alfred (a.k.a Josh2Funny), and Ruth Mahogany, a conscious creative writer, musician, and spoken word artist, amongst numerous others.

The Purpose of the Summit is to bring together skit-makers, filmmakers, musicians, theatre practitioners, comedians, poets, cultural policy experts and other practitioners in the Nigerian creative sector and civil society organizations to facilitate meaningful dialogue with government officials on the need for policy reforms that will address the issues and concerns around recent government actions and policies that may undermine creativity and threaten artistic freedom. It is also to provide a platform for government officials from media regulation and security agencies to give their perspectives and engage practitioners on the importance of policies they consider necessary for national security, peaceful coexistence, and public morality through moral suasion and policy dialogue rather than censorship, which practitioners and UVA consider arbitrary and undemocratic.

The summit is a hybrid event. Participants and speakers have the option of either attending physically/in-person or participating virtually/online via Zoom webinar. To attend the 2024 Freedom Vibes Summit, kindly register here:
About the Organizations
Unchained Vibes Africa (UVA)

Unchained Vibes Africa (UVA) is a cultural organization and social enterprise committed to developing arts and culture projects geared towards social causes. UVA’s mission is to leverage the power of the arts for civic education and to promote human rights, cultural diversity, and the spirit of solidarity in Africa. UVA’s flagship program, Freedom Vibes is a series of events and shows designed to advocate for artistic freedom and promote civic engagements through the arts. UVA has organized 8 editions of Freedom Vibes Series and a summit where it brought together stakeholders for dialogue and engagements towards participatory reforms in policies that hinder artistic freedom.

For more information about Unchained Vibes Africa, please visit our website www.unchainedvibesafrica.com

NBA Media and Creativity Committee

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) is the non-profit, umbrella professional association of all lawyers admitted to the Bar in Nigeria and a member of all statutory bodies that regulate the Nigerian Bar and Bench. The Media and Creativity Committee is the arm of the NBA executing its agenda on this thematic area.

The NBA is Nigeria’s foremost and oldest professional membership organization and one of Africa’s most influential networks of legal practitioners, with over 140,000 lawyers on its roll in 128 active branches across the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria. It is organized into three practice Sections, eleven Fora, and two Institutes, all supported by one National Secretariat.

The NBA is engaged in the promotion and protection of human rights, the rule of law and good governance in Nigeria. It has an observer status with the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, and a working partnership with many national and international governmental and non-governmental organizations concerned with human rights, the rule of law and good governance in Nigeria and across the world.

For more information about NBA, please see https://nigerianbar.org.ng/about

Elixir Trust Foundation (ETF)

Elixir Trust Foundation is a non-governmental, humanitarian organization, West Africa working to promote human rights of vulnerable groups, gender equality, prevent violent extremism, create awareness about health issues while providing solutions to problems. ETF’s mission is to ensure respect for human rights for citizens through sensitization, education, and training to improve the quality of life in the society.

For more information about NBA, please see https://www.elixirtrustfoundation.org/about

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