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North East and South Africa forge 5-year link for art and culture
One of South Africa’s leading politicians is travelling to the North East to sign an agreement with North East politicians for a unique five-year cultural partnership programme.
The signing of the agreement, called a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), is a key point in a unique cultural partnership project called The Swallows Partnership (Sihlanganiswa Ziinkonjane in South Africa’s Xhosa language).
Named after the swallows which fly from our region to the Eastern Cape of South Africa and back again each year, the Partnership was instigated and supported by Arts Council England, North East. It has since flourished to include other leading North East cultural bodies, such as Tyne and Wear Museums, Northern Film and Media and Museums, Libraries and Archives North East, as well as and local authorities led by the Association of North East Councils (ANEC) and the government of the Eastern Cape in South Africa.
Councillor Mick Henry, Chair of ANEC said, ‘The Swallows Partnership is a unique cultural partnership between the North East of England and the Eastern Cape in South Africa. The Memorandum of Understanding, signed today, agrees to the development of the Swallows Project, which is a five year project involving both countries.
‘The main objective is to develop friendship and co-operation between the countries citizens through a programme centred on the arts and culture but it is expected that the project will expand to other fields of activity over the period of the partnership.
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