Brief on NICO at the 34th Meeting of Chief Executives of Culture (CEC) of the Federation taking place at Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, from August 24-27, 2010
The activities of the Institute could be briefly highlighted as follows:
Training School
The Institute has continued to consolidate on all of its activities, including the regular Diploma and Post Graduate Diploma programmes at the Training School, Lagos. To ensure that the Academic Board of the Training School is properly constituted and well positioned to carry out its mandate, we have deployed suitably qualified staff to the School in the first instance, in preparation for academic work in the next session. We have also approved an application for a University Lecturer to do his Sabbatical in the Institute. On the other hand, discussions have reached advanced stage for contract appointment of a professor.
Permanent Site/Office – Kuje, Abuja
We have made some progress in the area of the Access Road to the Training School complex in Kuje Area Council, FCT. Based on a letter from the Honourable Minister for Tourism, Culture & National Orientation, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq Mohammed, on the issue to the Honourable Minister for the Federal Capital Territory, Sen. Bala Mohammed has directed that survey, drawings and cost estimate be made for the road be prepared. The survey has been done and we are awaiting the final drawings and the cost estimate, to see if the project could be captured in the 2011 Budget.
NICO Website
The website of the Institute: http://www.nico.gov.ng, has been very active since we redesigned it. It is interesting to note that even news about this 34th Meeting of CEC of the Federation is on our site. Furthermore, the specialised workshop for in-house webmasters for ministries and parastatals in the cultural sector will take place in the last quarter. The objective is to position MDAs in the sector to provide ready information in their sites, in order to generate traffic and patronage of their activities.
NICO News
Apart from concerted efforts to create awareness about NICO in the media, we have sustained the publication of NICO News, the in-house newsletter of the Institute. The new-look glossy July-August 2010 edition captures most of the happenings in the Institute as well as the culture sector in the last two months.
National Workshop on Dress Culture
The Orientation and Cultural Affairs Department organised a National Workshop on “Promoting Nigerian Dress Culture for National Identity.” The programme came up on April 7-9, 2010, at the Cyprian Ekwensi Cultural Centre, Area 10, Garki-Abuja. The communiqué that emanated from that event was distributed at the last National Council on Tourism, Culture and National Orientation meeting that took place at Calabar, Cross River State. It is gratifying to note that the Dress Nigerian Days, which was approved at the last National council Meeting for necessary action by the Ministry has received rave reviews in the media. Information at our disposal shows that the memo will be submitted to the Federal Executive Council Meeting by September 2010.
Workshop on Repositioning Cultural Workers: South-West Zone
The South-West Zonal office of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), in conjunction with the Ondo State Ministry of Culture & Tourism, organized a 2-day training workshop for Ondo State Cultural workers, at the state and local government level. The theme of the workshop is: “Repositioning the Nigerian Cultural Worker for Better Service Delivery.” The event took place at the Ondo State Cultural Centre, Oba Adesida Road, Akure, from May 25-26, 2010.
Workshop on Culture, Nigerian Youth and Patriotism: South-East Zone
The South-East zonal office of the Institute organised a one-day Youth Orientation workshop on the theme, “Culture, Nigerian Youth and Patriotism,” in collaboration with the Imo State Council for Arts & Culture (ISCAC). The event took place at the Mbari Arts Centre, Ikenegbu Layout, Owerri, on June 29, 2010. This is only one in a series of programmes that the institute will be executing in partnership with relevant agencies in the culture sector.
Workshop on Lafarge Cement Company Plc, Ewekoro: Lagos Liaison Office
During the period under review, the Lagos Liaison office of the Institute also organised a workshop for about forty (40) expatriate staff of Lafarge Cement Company at Ewekoro, Ogun State. The idea of the programme was to psychologically prepare the expatriates for their new working environment, which would go a long way in contributing to their productivity. It is our hope other multi-nationals organisations who bring in expatriates would emulate Lafarge in preparing their workers to understand the cultural background of the people in their immediate environment.
Nigerian Indigenous Language Programme (NILP)
The 4-weeks intensive long vacation Nigerian Indigenous Language Programme is currently taking place in the Abuja head office, Lagos Liaison office, as well as the zonal offices in Yenagoa, Ilorin and Yola. The ones for Akure, Owerri, and Katsina will take place from next week. Furthermore, the number of indigenous languages has increased progressively to nine in Lagos and Abuja, namely, Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Izon, Efik, Tiv, Nupe, Fulfulde, and Gbagyi.
Donation of Toyota Hilux Van by Adamawa State Governor
The Executive Secretary paid a courtesy visit on the Executive Governor of Adamawa State, His Excellency Admiral Murtala Nyako (rtd) GCON, when he was in Yola, for the opening ceremony of the Nigerian Indigenous Language Programme. At the request of the ES, the governor approved the donation of a Toyota Hilux van to facilitate the operations of the zonal office of the Institute. The governor also extended the kind gesture by directing that a second Hilux van be given to the State Council for Arts & Culture.
Inauguration of NICO Cultural Clubs
We have inaugurated NICO Cultural Clubs in some secondary schools in FCT. The idea is to create awareness and generate interest in our indigenous culture. As it had been noted, it is an attempt to “catch them young” and imbibe strong cultural values in our children.
Quarterly Workshop for Arts Writers/Editors
Recognising the cardinal role arts writers and editors play in the propagation of cultural values in a given society, we have put in place a Quarterly Workshop for Arts Writers and Editors. The programme offers journalists in the Arts/Culture/Theatre Desk a unique opportunity to draw from the experiences of veteran journalists/arts editors, who had proved their worth over the years. The maiden edition of the workshop took place on May 19, 2010, while the second edition took place on August 2, 2010, at the Merit House, Maitama-Abuja. We want to use this medium to enjoin CEC members to give officers handling their Press/Public Relations Units to take advantage of this illuminating programme, as it serves as a veritable instrument for training and re-training of such officers.
Staff Welfare
To motivate staff for improved job performance, we have designed a training scheme for every member of staff. This entailed preparing monthly training roster which schedules about 22 staff from the headquarters for workshops (every month), while the six zonal offices, Lagos Liaison office, and the Training School, are to send two(2) staff each per month for similar training programmes. The implication of this initiative is that about 80 officers have benefitted from the scheme for July and August 2010. There is no gainsaying the fact that this has given staff some level of confidence as they now have a sense of belonging.
Relationship with Foreign Bodies
In recognition of the relevance of NICO to the promotion of culture, its Executive Secretary was nominated as an expert to represent Nigeria at the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The Executive Secretary, Dr. Barclays Ayakoroma, attended the UNESCO Convention for the Bureau Meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, in Paris, France, on November 27, 2009. He also attended the UNESCO Conference on Art Education, which took place Seoul, South Korea, from 22-26 May, 2010.
Last Word
There is no gainsaying the fact that NICO needs the support of members of CEC in all the above programmes. The zonal offices also need to collaborate with the various state Arts Councils and History and Culture Bureaux to make any meaningful impact. This is an imperative that we need to factor into.
NICO is ready to partner with various MDAs in the sector to fulfil its mandate; and we believe that we can, together, take the culture and tourism sector to higher heights, making it a high revenue earner, comparable to oil in the nearest future.
Presented by:
Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma, PhD
Executive Secretary/CEO
Tel: 09-290-7114
Mobile: +234-803-313-3283
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: http://www.nico.gov.ng
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
