The United States, U.S., has announced the launch of the African Creative Television, ACTV and the American music mentoring program to woo creatives in Nigeria’s arts and entertainment industry.
The initiatives which would be launched later this year will leverage partnerships to mentor budding and aspiring creatives in film and music.
Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Lee Satterfield made the announcement on Wednesday during a visit to the University of Lagos as a follow-up to President Joe Biden’s meeting with African leaders in Washington DC 2022 and the visit of US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, who was in Nigeria earlier in January.
She said the ACTV will partner with the University of Central Florida to adopt and train screen writers, producers and cinematographers in Nigeria who will be under the mentorship of American TV writers and film producers.
“The American music mentoring programme will also collaborate with the Grammys, the US Recording Academy, to attract international talent from Nigeria to the US.
“The US’ interest in Nigeria’s creative industry comes as part of President’s Biden cooperation efforts between the two countries and the initiatives reiterate a bilateral commitment of opening doors and opening ideas,” she said.
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The Assistant Secretary also said she was happy to unlock an educational initiative, adding that the U.S. was opening a programme for the creative economy through script to screen process.
“We’re going to select four Nigerian filmmaking students to come for a year in a community college in the United States.
“Film, Television and Music Industries continue to evolve at unprecedented pace and we’re seeing an evermore interconnected world.
“US high tech giants like Google, Meta, Microsoft are heavily investing in Nigeria, supporting development of local tech talent and promoting inclusive economic growth and development,” Satterfield explained.
Satterfield equally noted that for over 75 years the U.S. has connected with people through culture, sharing its struggles and successes with the world through movies and music and the country.
This same phenomenon, she said, was currently being seen with Nollywood and Afrobeats, adding that the U.S. government was supporting Nigeria’s creative industries because they offered economic opportunities for millions of people from Hollywood to Nollywood.
“The heart of our relationship is our people,” Satterfield noted.
Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola said for over five decades, the institution had supported people and scholars from various U.S. programmes and activities.
She explained that there were currently 38 Fulbright scholars in the university of Lagos, adding that the institution was one of top universities for hosting scholars from the U.S.
“As an academic institution, we’re focused on ensuring that we continue to have cross-fertilization between scholars from all around the world and particularly the U.S.
“The University of Lagos is going to play host to a window on America and we are looking forward to that, which will be another way of cultural exchange,” Ogunsola said.
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