Kenya: The Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) has affirmed its commitment to supporting initiatives geared towards identifying and nurturing talents among the youths in the creative sector for job opportunities and wealth creation.
While addressing participants at the 2nd Edition of the Swahili International Film Festival and Awards at the Mama Ngina Drive, Mombasa, the Board’s Corporate Communications Manager, Nelly Muluka, said that KFCB is keen on creating a facilitative regulatory environment that will spur the growth of the creative economy.
She urged upcoming content creators to take advantage of the various programs being spearheaded by Government agencies in the Creative sector to commercialize and monetize their talents.
“Since we cannot regulate in a vacuum, we have anchored our programs to support the realization of the #TalantaHela Initiative that is being championed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs, the Arts and Sports as well as the Bottom-Up Economic Empowerment Agenda (BETA),” she said.
To create a facilitative regulatory environment for the Creative Economy to thrive, the Board, through the Ministry of Youth Affairs, The Arts and Sports, has proposed a review of the Films and Stage Plays Act Regulations and Guidelines.
Through the regulations and guidelines, the Government has proposed a 15% reduction in licensing fees for local filmmakers. Licensing fees for foreign filmmakers will, however, not change.
KFCB is also keen on collaborating with industry stakeholders to promote Kenya’s culture, moral values, and national aspirations and, more importantly, protect children from exposure to inappropriate audio-visual content.
The Board is leveraging the SIFF Awards to sensitize participants on our mandate, programs, and our #FormiNiSafi, #CleanIsCool clean content campaigns, in line with our Consumer Advisory role.
The SIFF Awards seeks to promote films produced in the Swahili language and coincide with International Swahili Day with performances in drama skits, spoken word, dance and screening of short films, among other forms of art.
As part of appreciating local content creators under our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the Board has supported the SIFF Awards 2023 through the provision of co-branded trophies and certificates for awarding to winners in different categories such as: best short film, best comedy skit, best TV drama series, best in the Swahili language, best social/new media, best dance, among others. State Department for Youth Affairs & The Arts