Business and Arts South Africa NPC (BASA)
is repositioning its current programmes to respond proactively to the challenges
of the COVID-19 crisis.
Constituted in terms of the Companies Act,
BASA is registered as a public benefit organisation (PBO) and is accountable to
its stakeholders to champion mutually beneficial partnerships between business
and the arts, cultural and heritage sector. The BASA Board of Directors is
chaired by Charmaine Soobramoney, with Deputy Chair Mandie van der Spuy, and
Kojo Baffoe, Kathy Berman, Devi Sankaree Govender, Ashraf Johaardien (CEO), Hilton
Lawler, Andre Le Roux, Khanyi Mamba, Zingisa Motloba, Dr Yacoob Omar, and Mirna
Wessels.
“The current situation has amplified the
necessity for refining how we execute our strategy," says Boitumelo 'Tumy'
Motsoatsoe, BASA's Head of Programmes. "The pandemic has plunged the whole
world into crisis, compelling both individuals and organisations to increase
their agility and to speed up responsiveness. BASA believes this kind of
dexterity and design thinking can both be applied to and support the creation
of meaningful employment opportunities for youth, as well as contributing to
essential skills development to the creative sector.
“If there is anything that this pandemic
has highlighted, it is the growing inequality in [a] country that sees the
underprivileged being further marginalised and excluded. Our aim with all our
programmes is to ensure that we make our processes and initiatives as holistic,
inclusive and accessible as possible; and that we continue to be deliberate
about offering those with limited skills and knowledge an opportunity to
participate in the creative economy.”
In line with this, BASA is implementing
several key changes to its current programmes:
SCALE-UP, partnered by Rand Merchant Bank
(RMB), will reconnect with previous participants and offer opportunities to
apply for further training, as well as customised mentorship and funding, in an
effort to deepen the impact of the relationships, and to help individuals and
organisations scale-up in a meaningful way.
The DEBUT PROGRAMME, partnered by the
Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (DSAC), is aimed at young emerging creatives
from all nine provinces. This year, the programme aims to reach two communities
in each province and will be increasing collaborations and strategic
partnerships with local municipalities, hubs, organisations and entities. This
will extend its reach to anyone with limited or no access to information,
training and skills development. Participants will be selected from each
province, along with nine provincial liaisons, who will be given an opportunity
to build their administration and facilitation skills.
BASA will also be launching the Debut
Programme Alumni Network, which aims to facilitate continued
relationship-building through online engagements, training and other
opportunities. Webinars planned will cover an array of key topics pertaining to
digital skills and legal advice and will also feature discussions around
wellness.
For regular updates, find BASA on Facebook
@BusinessArtsSA, follow @basa_news on Twitter and @bizart_za on IG.
To link directly to the BASA website, click
on the BASA logo to the right of this article or visit www.basa.co.za
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