Business Arts South Africa Programmes Repositioned

Press release by BASA

Business and Arts South Africa NPC (BASA) is repositioning its current programmes to respond proactively to the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis.

“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.

About BASA

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 SankareeGovender, Ashraf Johaardien (CEO), Hilton Lawler, Andre Le Roux, Khanyi Mamba, ZingisaMotloba, Dr Yacoob Omar, and MirnaWessels. For more information, please visit www.basa.co.za.