STORY: Zimbabwe seeks to elevate cooperation with China in arts sector
SHOOTING TIME: July 8, 2024
DATELINE: July 11, 2024
LENGTH: 00:03:37
LOCATION: Harare
CATEGORY: CULTURE

SHOTLIST:
1. various of performances by Chinese and Zimbabwean artists
2. various of audiences
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): NAPOLEON NYANHI, Director of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe
4. various of more artists performing
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): NAPOLEON NYANHI, Director of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe
6. various of calligraphy works showing the friendship between China and Zimbabwe
7. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): NAPOLEON NYANHI, Director of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe
8. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): NAPOLEON NYANHI, Director of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe
9. SOUNDBITE 5 (English): NAPOLEON NYANHI, Director of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe
10. various of friendly conversation between Chinese and Zimbabwean audiences

STORYLINE:

Zimbabwe is seeking to elevate cooperation with China in the creative arts to boost the sector and promote cultural ties between the two sides, said Napoleon Nyanhi, the director of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ).

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): NAPOLEON NYANHI, Director of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe
"A lot of these exchanges have happened in the areas of live performance, including music, dance, and instrumentation. We would like to see more of the collaboration go into other spheres of the arts, which are the area of fashion design, the areas of filmmaking and television productions."
   
Nyanhi noted that the Chinese-funded Dreamstar competition, Zimbabwe's largest talent search competition for young people, has been pivotal in uplifting Zimbabwean artists in various genres.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): NAPOLEON NYANHI, Director of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe
"We are very excited about the cooperation that has happened between Zimbabwe and China, especially when it comes to arts and culture development. I mention specifically, the Dreamstar program which has been running for over 10 years now, and we have seen almost 300 artists go from Zimbabwe to China to learn and also bring some of the Chinese work ethic, and some of the Chinese performance culture back to Zimbabwe."
   
The Dreamstar competition is organized by the China-Zimbabwe Exchange Center, an organization dedicated to promoting ties between China and Zimbabwe, with the support of the Chinese Embassy in Zimbabwe, Chinese businesses and communities in Zimbabwe, and the NACZ.
   
Having noted the importance of the arts sector to the economy, Zimbabwean government is investing in the film industry to help filmmakers develop their skills, said Nyanhi.

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): NAPOLEON NYANHI, Director of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe
"But we would also like to encourage and invite the Chinese filmmakers to also come to Zimbabwe and take part in this development and in this renaissance that we are embarking on with the film sector, (and we) would like for Chinese productions to come and film their shows here, (and we) would like for them to use some of the Zimbabwean crew, some Chinese crew, so that we've got culture and skills exchange."
   
Nyanhi said Chinese productions such as the TV series "Journey to the West" have been influential in Zimbabwe, a positive development for China-Zimbabwe cultural engagement.
   
SOUNDBITE 4 (English): NAPOLEON NYANHI, Director of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe
"We would love for more of our Zimbabwean productions to be able to do the same thing, we take whether animations, children's programs, TV series or movies, whatever it is, so we can do to create more of an affinity, more of love between Zimbabweans and Chinese by selling our culture and intermingling our cultures and arts. (In that way,) we can be able to do more work, more business, more friendship activities between China and Zimbabwe, when we know and understand each other's culture."
   
More Chinese cultural products and arts have managed to penetrate Zimbabwe, and Zimbabwe aims to export its art and crafts to China as well, he said.
   
SOUNDBITE 5 (English): NAPOLEON NYANHI, Director of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe
"Now, we need to build more of, sending more of our culture and our arts outside of Zimbabwe to China, so that they can see what it is that we do here. We have got a very rich culture as a nation."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Harare.
(XHTV)