Last week while in Lagos, Nigeria, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Lee Satterfield announced that the United States will elevate educational and cultural platforms to strengthen creative economies between the United States and Africa.
The announcement of these platforms builds on a recent visit to Nigeria by Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and aligns with President Biden’s 2022 Executive Order to use the creative arts to strengthen ties between the United States and African nations by fostering collaboration among government entities, community leaders, philanthropic organizations, the private sector, and the African diaspora to promote economic growth and opportunities on both continents.
In a speech at the University of Lagos, Lee Satterfield paid tribute to the close and special relationship between Nigeria and America and thanked Nigerians in the diaspora for their massive contribution in areas of sport, music, engineering and IT innovation.
She gave a special mention to US-born Nigerian Afrobeats star Davido and women’s basketball starst Chiney Ogwumike and her sister Nneka.
Satterfield said:“The deep partnership between the United States and Nigeria goes well beyond just our governments – in fact, at the heart of our relationship is our people. It is each of you in this room, it is the more than 17,000 undergraduate and graduate students from Nigeria who studied in the United States just last year; it is the artists and athletes – from Afrobeats sensation Davido to WNBA all-stars Chiney Ogwumike and her sister Nneka– who bring together our rich cultures and celebrate peace through music and sport; it is the entrepreneurs, engineers, programmers, and scientists that spur innovation in technology. It is these people – and even more – that comprise the partnership between the United States, Nigeria, and countries across the continent of Africa who – together – are working to advance peace, economic opportunity and equity, and security.”
As part of the initiative to elevate education and cultural platforms between the two countries, Satterfield announced the expansion of the partnership with Nigeria through the Fulbright Program and the Mandela Washington Fellowship.
She said: “For over 75 years, the U.S. has connected with people through culture, sharing our struggles and successes with the world through movies and music. Now, we are seeing the same global phenomenon with Nollywood and Afrobeats. The world is paying attention to African culture, African music, and African stories.
“The United States recognizes the tremendous potential of the creative industries to create economic opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic. American entertainers are increasingly collaborating with their Nigerian counterparts and U.S. creative companies like Netflix, Disney, Paramount, Sony, NBC Universal, and YouTube to fuel growth across Nigeria’s creative industries. And yet, we recognize that the opportunity isn’t for just entertainers, but more importantly for what the film and television industry calls ‘below the line jobs’ – from set design to sound and editing to promotion and production. The U.S. government is supporting Nigeria’s creative industries because they offer economic opportunities for millions of people from Hollywood to Nollywood.”
She announced the launch of the Africa Creative TV initiative. (ACTV) “The ACTV is a partnership with the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts and was created as a result of President Biden’s 2022 Africa Leaders Summit and is in recognition of the creative industry’s influence and impact in Africa. It will focus on professional development and network building for television writers, producers, and those in other technical fields such as art direction, cinematography, editing, line producing, and more.
“For 2024, the Africa Creative TV initiative will select eight TV projects for a four-week residency in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California. While there, participants will work with U.S. professionals to develop skills and prepare for writing, development, and production. Participants will bring works-in-progress to develop during the residency with mentoring by American TV writers, producers, and industry experts,” she said.
Assistant Secretary Satterfield also announced that mid-level music industry professionals from Nigeria, as well as Egypt, Kenya, Ghana, and Morocco, will participate in the first-ever American Music Mentorship Program (AMMP), which is a partnership between the Department and the Recording Academy. AMMP connects international mid-career music industry professionals with mentors, who are members of the Recording Academy. AMMP was first announced by Secretary Blinken at the launch of the Global Music Diplomacy Initiative in September 2023.
In the field of education, Satterfied announched a one-year script to screen writing course. She said: “Finally, as we look to unlock the creative economy both here in Nigeria and in the United States, we must also elevate the importance of education. That’s why I am proud to announce that this year, we will launch a one-year film-focused Community College Initiative program to take participants through the script to the screen process. The program will include four Nigerian filmmaking students and will support our broader efforts to build capacity in the creative economy, particularly through the lens of technical education.”
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