Cape Verde meets with representatives from musician copyright protection entities from various places around the world that will stay there until February 3rd. There are meetings in Praia, the capital of the Country, and Mindelo, on Saint Vincent Island. The activities are promoted by CIAN (The International Council of Music Creators) and include training focused on the theme of copyrights for musicians and song writers, as well as countless debates on achieving an increased share of the earnings from songs for artists all around the world.
Abraão Vicente, the Cape Verde Minister of Culture and Creative Industries, was present at the inauguration of the event. Around 100 local young musicians will be trained there and further their understanding on the productive chain from copyrights. “These creative people and most of them are young, if they were well-trained, they would be the hope of the future for the totality of copyrights”, states Sam Mbende, President of PACSA (The Pan-African Composers’ and Songwriters’ Alliance). Its headquarters is in Dakar, the organization was established in 2010 after a meeting took place with 25 organizations from different African countries.
Solange Cesarovna, CEO of the “Sociedade de Compositores de Moçambique” (the Society of Mozambique Composers) (SCM) – is the host organization for this event. She believes the activities will aid in providing increased copyright protection for musicians and composers in Cape Verde and other countries on the continent. “This is a noteworthy moment for us, as it is a great honor, and it will impel the level of knowledge and awareness of our musicians and composers who must earn their revenues from copyrights and achieve opportunities to build successful careers.”
Juca Novaes, the vice-president of the “Aliança Latino-Americana de Compositores e Autores de Música” (The Latin American Alliance of Composers and Music Writers) (ALCAM), on the other hand, emphasized during the inauguration ceremony and stated that the problems which have arisen for Cape Verde artists are the same as all other artists experience from all over the world. He also supports greater notoriety for Cape Verde music. “Our objective is to provide notoriety to Cape Verde music and make it well-known off our island, so that it is more inserted in the mainstream and known all over the world”.
This is the first time that CIAM has held an event of this nature on the African continent. “Solidarity and support from the entire world are essential for the work we are doing here, and CIAM is here to show how Africa is important to these efforts “, states the Canadian musician Eddie Schwartz, president of the entity.