The Portuguese Society of Authors participated in the African Committee of CISAC, which took place from 25 to 28 July in Kigali, capital of Rwanda, and where it was reaffirmed the importance of the Lusophone project that SPA has been developing and it was established that, the relevant documents of that Committee, or any other document concerning the collective management in Africa, will henceforth be translated into Portuguese along with English and French.
On the eve of the official commencement of the works, a seminar on raising the awareness on copyright issues was held, attended by the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Sport and Culture of the Government of Rwanda, directors of various African copyright societies and the Director General of CISAC, Gadi Oron, who also participated in all work sessions held during the week.
SPA, which was represented in Kigali by the Board member Paula Cunha, was the only European authors’ society invited to participate in this event.
On 25 March, the Minister of Commerce and Industry of Rwanda, François Kanimba, inaugurated the meeting, followed by Gadi Oron’s presentation of the global strategic priorities of CISAC and the African strategic plan (for 2020) presented by the African regional director, Samuel Sangwa. The representative of SPA played an active role in the analysis and discussion of this document which eventually incorporated several of her suggestions.
On the 26th, one of the work sessions was given by the SPA, which made a presentation on the work that has been developed in the scope of the Lusophone project, with particular emphasis on the process that led to the recent acceptance of the Capeverdian Music Society as Provisional member of CISAC.
Also to be highlighted on this day are the speeches by the leaders of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Regional Association for Intellectual Property in Africa (ARIPO), of which are members Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, Angola being an observer member, and the Norwegian Copyright Development Association (NORCODE), which explained the ongoing activities of the respective organizations in support of African copyright societies, as well as the prospects for future cooperation. It should be noted that the postgraduate course launched by SPA in partnership with the University of Lisbon on the management of copyright in the lusophony was highlighted as an initiative worthy of special attention and follow-up.
The representative of the SPA also had bilateral working meetings with leaders of some of the participating entities and with the president of the African Committee, Irene Vieira.
The final balance of this African Committee of CISAC, which was attended by 25 African authors’ societies and 45 participants from these countries, is very positive. In addition to the negotiation of several reciprocity agreements with African copyright societies, it has contributed to the strengthening of the prestige of the Portuguese position in that region and with the various international organizations.
Lisbon, August 1, 2017
