The Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Alfred N. Mutua and Amb. Minata Samate Cessouma, Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, on February 18, 2023 signed a Host Country Agreement between Kenya and African Union (AU), for the operationalization of a Temporary Secretariat of the African Audiovisual and Cinema Commission (AACC) in Nairobi.
The signing ceremony took place on the margins of the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the AU in Addis Ababa, making Kenya the first Member State of the AU to sign.
The AACC is a Specialized Agency of the AU established by a Statute approved by the 32nd African Union Assembly held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in February 2019. The establishment of the AACC was spearheaded by the Government of the Republic of Kenya, the AU Commission and the Pan-African Federation of Film Makers (FEPACI).
Aptly, Kenya offered to host the Secretariat which will oversee the process of ratification of the instrument as well as the operationalization of this important continental institution that will promote the development and growth of the creative economy.
This Pan-African Audio-visual and Cinema Commission will perform the following functions: the promotion of research on African Audio-visual and Cinema industries; promotion and distribution of African films throughout the continent and internationally; fast tracking the establishment of the African Audio-visual and Cinema Fund as well as providing technical support and advisory services to Member States for the formulation and implementation of audio-visual and cinema policies.
The AACC is also expected to promote the protection of indigenous knowledge and African oral and written folklore both at the national and continental levels.
During this event, Kenya encouraged other Member States to also sign the statute, and support the work of the AACC.