As an extension of the first UNESCO ResiliArt Debate organized by UNESCO Headquarters in partnership with International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) on 15 April 2020, on 6 May 2020, UNESCO Addis Ababa Liaison Office together with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ethiopia organized the country specific debate, which brought together artists and cultural professionals from various sectors (music, theatre, literature, painting and etc.).The debate successfully raised awareness on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the culture and creative sector, livelihood of artists and cultural professionals and came up with recommendations on the development of policies and measures to help overcome this crisis. Participants followed the live streaming of the debate in both Amharic and English
H.E. Mrs. Bizunesh Meseret, Minister of Culture and Tourism on her welcoming speech stressed the importance of exchanging ideas and views on how to overcome the serious impacts of COVID-19 on the culture sector, particularly the artists, whose livelihood was highly affected by the pandemic. In spite of the challenges artists faced, the Minister appreciated their contribution in tackling the pandemic, through National Media and Arts Task Force established under the Press Secretary of Prime Minister Office (PM Office), led by the State Minister of Culture (MoCT), involving cultural institutions and associations from visual artists and writers.
The Director of the UNESCO Addis Ababa Liaison Office to African Union and United Nations Economic Commission (UNECA) for Africa and UNESCO Country Representative to Ethiopia, Madam Ana Elisa Santana Afonso, highlighted the enormous global challenges the current health crisis had caused on the creative sector and how the pandemic had affected the entire creative value chain – creation, production, distribution and access. The Director stressed that artists and cultural professionals should envisage innovative and creative solutions, often by using digital tools to continue their activity and to connect with the public.
Panellists from the culture and creative sector gave country-specific presentations, among which, Dr. Bedilu Waqjira, who is a writer and an assistant professor of Humanities, Language Studies and Communication at Addis Ababa University acknowledged the effectiveness of cultural activities on achieving solidarity and emphasized on the need to improve digital adoption and innovation for art presentation. Dr. Elizabeth W/Giorgis, Associate Professor of Art History, Criticism and Theory in College of Performing and Visual Art and the Centre for African Studies at Addis Ababa University pointed out that COVID-19 had aggravated the existing situation of art being a neglected sector in Ethiopia. As a professional working in Art College, she advised the government to give more attention to and make adequate investment in art education.
UNESCO has undertaken a wide data collection and analysis efforts on a global scale, in order to assess the impacts of COVID-19 on the cultural sector and to identify measures of support deployed by governments for the sector. This data collection and analysis is available for consultation via the link “Interactive map on cultural initiatives in response to the COVID CRISIS” below.
(India Education Diary Bureau Admin)
ResiliArt – Ethiopia: Strengthening the Resilience of Artists and Cultural Professionals beyond COVID-19
What businesses can do to cushion the impact of Covid-19
By Solomon Markos (PhD)
The outbreak of Corona virus has caused a global health crisis. The decisions of governments to partially or fully lockdown their nation in their effort to contain the pandemic has affected businesses profoundly. It made the business world more uncertain. ILO reported that worldwide, more than 436 million enterprises face high risks of serious disruption. These enterprises are operating in the hardest-hit economic sectors, including some 232 million in wholesale and retail, 111 million in manufacturing, 51 million in accommodation and food services, and 42 million in real estate and other business activities. The same report indicates that the first month of the crisis is estimated to have resulted in a drop of 60 per cent in the income of informal workers globally. This translates into a drop of 81 per cent in Africa. If the pandemic is not controlled within short period of time, many companies will be out of business resulting in loss of jobs thus leading to total economic crisis affecting the livelihood of billions of the most vulnerable workers across the world.
ILO estimated that almost 1.6 billion informal economy workers (representing the most vulnerable in the labor market), out of a worldwide total of two billion and a global workforce of 3.3 billion, have suffered massive damage to their capacity to earn a living. Consequently, many countries slashed their economic growth forecast to reflect the impact of Covid-19. As reported by Ethiopian Planning Commission, Ethiopia has slashed its growth forecast by 3 to 4 percent. Besides, a study conducted by the Job Creation Commission of Ethiopia indicates that the pandemic has put a number of jobs in many organizations especially in manufacturing and service sector at risk. As the same report shows, the pandemic, assuming its duration will be three months, could lead to loss of over 1.4 million jobs. One can image how businesses can be more affected and the likelihood that the pandemic could lead to national economic crisis as time passes. Business disruptions and subsequent closures may lead to more and more unemployment and other economic costs exacerbating the already fragile political system.
Cognizant of these facts, Ethiopian government is preparing various stimulus packages to help businesses survive and thrive amidst Covid-19 related challenges. The author is of a strong opinion that more is expected from business leaders themselves.
The roles and responsibilities of business leaders have dramatically changed in the past few weeks and months. Before COVID-19, CEOs and other executives in high-growth companies were focused on fostering innovation, driving revenue, and expanding market share. Now they need to revisit their business goals and strategies. Today, many of those same leaders who used to focus on growth must change areas of priorities and make rapid decisions about controlling costs, maintaining liquidity, resolving supply chain issues, curbing team shortages, and operational challenges. All the while, leaders and their teams are navigating health and safety concerns, working remotely, and supporting their families through the pandemic. This is a huge transition in business leadership.
Below I have outlined some measures businesses of all sizes and shapes can take to cushion and shield themselves from long-term economic damage created by Covid-19 based on my readings: These are five strategic priority areas to manage the crisis:
Manage safety and health of employees
It is imperative to always put human at core of business processes. Business leaders should strictly and frequently follow guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to protect the wellbeing of their employees and make sure that all employees are aware of these guidelines. Strong occupational safety measures and rescheduling of working hours into more shifts (e.g., three to four shifts) to reduce the number of workers working at a time so as to create space for keeping one’s distance in work place would help continue production. The case in point is manufacturing sector – the textile industry for instance for which Covid-19 has brought about an opportunity to expand its production as demand for facemasks increases. This, doubling of shifts might also create additional vacant positions that can employ those in search of jobs. It is recommended to minimize contacts and reduce non-essential travel where possible.
Ensure liquidity
Businesses need to have team of financial analysts who frequently conduct financial stress testing, identify trigger variables that affect revenue and cost and suggest possible contingency plans along with business scenarios. Here over-thinking and over-analysis are not encouraged because speed of action and start up mindset is more important than research and analysis to ensure rapid recovery of revenues and maintain liquidity.
Transform operations and monitor supply chain
Following the outbreak, the demand patterns for different products and services have changed a lot. In effort to respond to these changes, smart firms have quickly adapted, creating radical new levels of flexibility, productivity and end-customer connectivity. Adaptability is also extremely essential as Covid-19 has caused short-term disruptions in supply chains thus necessitating consideration of non-traditional collaborations with partners at upstream and downstream of the supply chain. Companies need to redesign and rebuild operations and test the viability of the once-prevalent global sourcing model and revisit their supplier mix and assets bases. Furthermore, accelerating end-to-to end digitization of supply chains will enable fast communication and collaboration among value chain partners and increase flexibility thereby cutting cost significantly. Of course, the future of work is expected to be characterized by intensive use of technology and automation. One can realize that Covid-19 has hastened its pace (see that many companies now ask employees to work remotely from their home using digital collaboration tools). Effective monitoring of supply chain requires forecasting real-time consumer demands more accurately thereby enabling stabilization of supply chain through giving maximum possible attention to pre-booking possible modes of transportation and inventory control as to avoid stock out.
Improve marketing and sales
Covid-19 has shifted our cultural moments. As a result, marketing teams face unique challenges during this crisis. They need to adjust their marketing campaigns and communication approaches. At this difficult time, businesses should demonstrate empathy and avoid capitalizing on crisis. Businesses need to stay close to customers, keep them engaged and reassured in the short term. It is advised to provide discounts and special offers to incentivize current customers. Besides, firms should start researching and targeting other market segments and opportunities for growth to be successful to ensure long term financial stability. Finally, it is worth investing in digital marketing solutions as predictions indicate Covid-19 will boost digital marketing (Many people are speculating whether the Covid-19 crisis will likely lead to changes on social attitudes, lifestyles and how people work and shop, thus being an opportunity for digital marketing).
Reconsider the organization
Corona virus outbreak has demonstrated to organizations once again the need for working remotely through digitized working environment, altering operating models, using cross functional and operating teams to make fast decisions instead of too hierarchical and lengthy corporate bureaucracy to respond rapidly to changing and uncertain business environment. This rethinking of the organization could go to the extent of questioning and reconsidering who they are( for example reconsidering goals, strategies, orientations and leadership roles), how to work (For instance, what are new ways of doing things, how to retain the right human talent) and how to achieve and sustain competitive advantage (For instance, reconsidering ways of corporate growth especially though creating learning platforms, and cultivating an organizational culture that creates business value).
Conclusion
Covid-19 has further complicated the already complex and uncertain business environment. The challenge it poses to businesses is enormous and multi-faceted. However, through strong leadership that sets priorities, defines clearer goals and develops the right strategies, businesses can effectively cushion the impact of Covid-19, find and navigate their ways to the next new normal.
The author is currently working as assistant professor at School of Commerce, College of Business and Economics, Addis Ababa University.
Europe and the illusion of new Marshall plan
If there is one ready-made, off-the-shelf cliché politicians like to invoke in the current COVID 19 crisis, it is the need for a new Marshall Plan to help Europe overcome the economic impact of coronavirus lockdowns. Named after the then United States Secretary of State, General George Marshall, his idea which was first proposed in 1947, was signed into law in April 1948 and became known as the European Recovery Act.
Denis MacShane, the former UK’s Minister for Europe and is the author of “Brexiternity. The Uncertain Fate of Britain” indicated that Ursula von der Leyen, President of European Union (EU) Commission, Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy and Pedro Sanchez, Prime Minister of Spain are among the political leaders who have called for a modern-day version of the Marshall Plan. EU Commissioner Thierry Breton has even called for a Marshall Plan for Europe’s tourism industry.
75 years later, EU leaders seem to have forgotten their history. None of them seem to have the first idea about the Marshall Plan. Simply put, according to Denis MacShane, the conditions that gave birth to the Marshall Plan do not exist today. And the way it was implemented after its launch in 1948 would cause uproar if proposed now.
The purpose of the Marshall Plan was above all political, to stop Europe turning communist at a time when the communist parties in France and Italy were winning most votes in elections. Jozef Stalin, the Soviet ruler, was encouraging communist uprisings in Greece and Turkey. In addition, he had shown his ruthlessness by disposing the non-communist left in countries occupied by the Red Army.
Denis MacShane further noted that today, there are worries that populist-nationalist right-wing parties with a clear anti-EU bias might strengthen politically if the countries worst hit by COVID 19 are left without help. To be sure, from Brexit to the ultra-nationalist Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban, the EU is living with new populist national identity politics. However, these forces are not even remotely on a par with communist efforts to take over Europe after 1945.
Holger Schmieding, Chief Economist at Berenberg Bank in London strongly argued that EU already outgunning the Marshall Plan. The money which the United States government initially offered up under the Marshall Plan back in 1948 in today’s money amounted to $202 billion (or €186 billion). Compare that to the €1.5 trillion which the EU is making available today for a much bigger recovery fund. It comes in various forms, including cheap loans from the European Stability Mechanism and the European Central Bank (ECB).
According to Holger Schmieding, there is a row between different EU governments on how the money should be disbursed. Northern European governments, including Social democratic-led ones in Denmark and Sweden, as well as the Social Democrats in the German coalition government are resisting an open-ended pledge. They are not prepared to hand over their taxpayers’ money to countries in southern Europe which, in their view, have refused to undertake the economic management reforms in their countries since the Euro was introduced two decades ago.
Kallum Pickering, Senior Economist at Berenberg Bank in London stated that the Marshall Plan money was not a gift, but a repayable loan used mainly to buy goods from the United States. In particular, it was used for machine tools and other industrial equipment to get European industry going again. It was closely supervised by Marshall Plan envoys, mainly United States business executives. They opened up offices in the capital cities of the countries receiving the aid and made sure it was disbursed according to United States rules. American productivity experts and trade unionists toured Europe, explaining why modern management methods to increase productivity were the key to Europe’s future economic prosperity.
Kallum Pickering stressed that in contrast, today’s Italian government insists that no help can arrive that would come with any conditions attached. Nor does it accept any external supervision of the measures taken by the Italian government under the European plans offered up. However, such supervision was precisely the norm under the Marshall Plan.
Egged on by the Soviet Union, which refused to take part in the Marshall Plan, Europe’s populist anti-American left in the late 1940s opposed all United States aid. French communist trade unionists even derailed a train bringing aid to France, killing 16. Their anti-Americanism was part of the reason why the dream of a progressive left Europe evaporated in the countries receiving Marshall Plan aid. As a result, in the 1950s conservative politicians ruled the roost in Britain, Germany, Italy and France.
The Marshall Plan was based on open trade and political integration in Western Europe. In that regard, it was ultimately a functional precursor of the EU. Demanding a new Marshall Plan now sounds evocative and generous. However, the Marshall Plan of the 1940s has nothing to do with what Europe needs to do to recover from the 2020 pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic is the defining health crisis of our time
Beginning with a cluster of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan, China, this novel coronavirus has spread with alarming speed, shaking the foundations of health systems, economies, and societies around the world. European countries are among the most heavily affected. At the time of writing, five of the six most-affected countries are in Europe.
And yet, even as Europe is fighting to bring COVID-19 under control at home, it is also playing a leading role in building global solidarity. Even as we are physically distancing as individuals, we need to pull together collectively as actors on the world stage.
The European Union and WHO share a commitment to supporting vulnerable communities and countries around the world. Standing together as a global community is particularly crucial now, because we are all in this together as the disease knows no borders and does not discriminate. As long as it affects some of us, none of us is safe.
To support the global response to COVID-19, the European Union and its Member States recently put forward a Team Europe package, which is growing to be well over €23 billion. Of course, Team Europe will be delivering parts of its response to the coronavirus pandemic with the United Nations.
Like in so many crises, the most vulnerable suffer the most, and they must be our focus. The EU is supporting the WHO Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan with €30 million in new funding to strengthen emergency preparedness and response in countries with weak health systems or which are affected by humanitarian crises.
In addition, the European Commission, WHO, and partners from around the globe have also teamed up to launch ‘The Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator’, to speed up the development, production and equitable distribution of vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics for COVID-19, so that all people have equitable access to these lifesaving products.
Building on this historic commitment, the European Commission hosted a pledging event on 4 May at which more than 40 countries came together to pledge some €7.4 billion to support research and development for vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics.
But our partnership extends well beyond the current crisis. The pandemic exploits the gaps and inequalities in health systems, underscoring the importance of investing in health workers, health infrastructure and systems to prevent, detect and respond to disease outbreaks.
Strong health systems are the best prevention not only against outbreaks and pandemics, but also against the multiple health threats people around the world face every day.
And yet, on current trends, more than 5 billion people will lack access to essential health services by 2030 – including the ability to see a health worker, access to essential medicines, and running water in hospitals. Even when services are available, using them can mean financial ruin for millions of people.
These gaps don’t only undermine the health of individuals, families and communities; they also undermine global security and economic growth.
That is why the EU has contributed €102 million to the Universal Health Coverage Partnership with WHO, supporting health system strengthening in 115 countries in Africa, the Caribbean, the Pacific, Eastern Europe, and Central and South East Asia. The world spends around US$7.5 trillion on health each year – almost 10 percent of global GDP.
But too many countries spend too much of their health budget on managing diseases in hospitals – where the costs are higher and the outcomes are often worse – instead of promoting health and preventing disease at the primary health care level. The COVID-19 pandemic will eventually recede, but there can be no going back to business as usual.
As we work on responding to this pandemic, we must also prepare for the next one. Now is an opportunity to lay the foundations for resilient health systems around the world.
Investments to strengthen health infrastructure and workforce are the only way to avoid future global health crises like the one we are facing now.
If we learn anything from COVID-19, it must be that investing in health now will save lives later. History will judge us not only on whether we got through this pandemic, but on the lessons we learned and the actions we took once it was over.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is Director-General of the World Health Organization
Jutta Urpilainen is Commissioner for International Partnerships of the European Commission
