TARO'S ANNUAL NARRATIVE REPORT (2023)

Dar es Salaam, Tanzanzania,

The Tanzania Artists Rights Organization (TARO) celebrates mileston from legal reforms advocacy, here’s how we’re reshaping Tanzania’s arts sector:

Post Title: 2023 Impact Report: Advancing Artistic Freedom in Tanzania

The Tanzania Artists Rights Organization (TARO) is proud to share key milestones from 2023, a year of significant progress under the SANAA RIGHTS Project. Implemented with CDEA and funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy, our efforts focused on transforming the legal and policy environment for Tanzanian artists.

2023 Advocacy in Action

1. Legal Roundtables: We convened artists and stakeholders to discuss legislative challenges. Themes included fair remuneration and gender equality. The recommendations from these sessions became the foundation of our advocacy for revising the National Arts Act.

2. Cross-Sector Collaboration: Meetings with artists, feminists, and the Tanganyika Law Society (TLS) scrutinized key laws including the National Arts Act and Copyright Act, to address gender disparities in arts governance.

3. Government Engagement: We held strategic meetings with arts authorities (BASATA, COSOTA, TFB) to build consensus on the urgent need for legal reforms.

4. Parliamentary Advocacy: Targeted discussions with parliamentary committees advanced our push for freedom of expression, gender inclusivity, and alignment with international human rights standards.

5. Legal Papers: We published comprehensive position papers exposing legal barriers to artistic freedom and the high cost of compliance. These documents provide evidence for all our advocacy.

Key Results & Successes

Our structured advocacy delivered tangible outcomes:

• BASATA Reforms: The National Arts Council restored the process of drafting new regulations to comply with international human rights conventions, with TARO providing expert input.

• COSOTA Collaboration: Following our engagement, COSOTA initiated new regulations (including the Marrakesh Treaty for visually impaired persons) and began amending the Copyright Act to include gender mainstreaming.

• Budget Wins: The Ministry of Culture's 2024/2025 budget included public copyright awareness programs and, for the first time, awards for fine artists a direct result of our advocacy.

• Gender Equality: BASATA convened a special meeting on gender inclusivity in the arts, a direct response to the SANAA RIGHTS project.

• Global Recognition: TARO represented Tanzania at the 19th World Summit on Arts and Culture in Stockholm, becoming a case study for artistic freedom in Africa. We are now connected with global networks like Artists at Risk Connection.

Conclusion

The SANAA RIGHTS project has laid a strong foundation for systemic change. By affirming cultural rights as human rights and fostering collaboration with government bodies, we are building a more inclusive and equitable arts sector in Tanzania.

🙏 Thank You, Norway & Partners

This progress wouldn’t exist without the Royal Norwegian Embassy and collaborators like Culture and Development East Africa (CDEA) , Tanganyika Law Society (TLS) and stakeholders.

FOR MORE DETAILED INFORMATION

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NARRATIVE REPORT TARO 2023.pdf

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📩 **Get Involved: tarotanzania@gmail.com | #SANAArights