Botswana: The Assistant Minister of Trade and Industry, Beauty Manake, has called on women musicians to be more creative, produce quality music, and utilize opportunities brought by the government.
The Minister expressed these sentiments at the Women of Song Workshop held at the Grand Palm Hotel and Casino Convention Resort recently.
The Minister said she was an advocate for affirmative action to have at least 60% of music by local women played on local radio stations, adding that this will economically empower women through royalties issued by the Copyright Society of Botswana (COSBOTS).
Manake also said the government had taken strides in strengthening the creative sector through the enactment of laws protecting patents, copyright, and neighbourhood rights.
“The recently launched Intellectual Property Policy (IPP) ensures that creatives can profit and share their works with the world,” she says.
Minister Manake also hailed the launch of the three BTV channels, with one channel purely dedicated to entertainment to create a platform to propel local content upward, saying this development will be supported by enforcing an 80% quota for local artists on all media platforms.
“The creative industry will bear rewards for local creatives as the sector has lucrative value chains and untapped opportunities for women.”
The goal of the workshop was to empower women in the music industry and break down barriers that limit them.
This is a great initiative taken by the Ministry of Trade and Industry Botswana, and the women of Botswana will get a boost after this workshop and must get a platform to show their talent to the whole world.
As per the Survey, women seemed excited and really looking forward to showing their creativity and quality in music.
One of the local singers stated, “I am eagerly waiting to show my talent on a big platform because when I sing on the radio, people only know my voice, not me, and I want to show the audience, so whenever I go out, they can come and meet me, they are like my family.”
