Bobo-Dioulasso, The 20th edition of the National Culture Week (SNC) closes its doors this evening in the city of Sya. In this interview, the President of the National Organizing Committee (PCNO), Fidèle Tamini, talks about some difficulties, but says he is satisfied with the holding of this Biennial of Culture.
SNC Kibaru (SK): What conclusions can we draw from the organization of this 20th edition of the SNC?
Fidèle Betamou Aymar Tamini (FBAT) : We must remember the effective presence of the artists in competition and the presence of many festival-goers as initially planned. We expected 600,000 but according to our statistics, we have an estimate of 680,000 festival-goers.
In terms of planning, we can say that things went as we wished. As far as infrastructure is concerned, we have succeeded in mobilizing it.
We also succeeded in setting up the fair which mobilizes nearly 40,000 visitors daily. The various spaces dedicated to the event refuse people every day.
We can talk about the Maison de la Culture which hosts the GPNALs, the community village which constitutes a real pole of attraction. To date, the juries have completed their work and in principle we must have the results before the closing.
SK: What were the difficulties encountered during this edition?
FBAT: The main difficulty is related to accommodation. We initially wanted to welcome the artists in spaces that were much more respectful of their dignity, but our offer was insufficient so that we had to resort to other spaces that were not planned.
This leads us to think that this question needs to be reviewed. This has already been thought of by the construction of the City of Artists, the first stone of which was laid at the start of this edition. We hope that at the next edition, we could have infrastructures up to the height of the event.
SK: What is your level of satisfaction?
FBAT: We managed to hold this edition despite the security context, despite the deadlines that were given to us for the organization. At the end of FESPACO, we had less than two months to prepare this edition. Seeing today that we have succeeded in mobilizing so many people in Bobo-Dioulasso with very little difficulty, we can only rejoice.
This is proof that the Burkinabè remain resilient, it is also proof that this event still has its place in Bobo-Dioulasso. The satisfaction is great when we look at the great action of the Defense and Security Forces (FDS) which secure the event. To date, we have had no incidents. We give glory to God.
SK: At the opening ceremony, the artists present were unable to perform. What explained this situation?
FBAT: Every organization has shortcomings. At the start, we had a scenario which provided for a certain number of artists in the official format and a second part where we offered a gala to the population.
In this second phase were planned Floby, Amity Méria, Sidiki Diabaté… Those who were to perform before the Head of State were well known. But in view of the world in the stadium that day, we needed a technical reorganization of the program which caused a waste of time.
This meant that some artists could not perform. The ceremony took longer than expected and the authority had to withdraw after the gong. Some artists thought that they had to perform in front of the Head of State, yet this was not planned in the scenario.
SK: What about the participation of foreign troops?
FBAT: Only Côte d’Ivoire participates in this edition and it is present in certain competitions. In the past the participation of the diaspora had been abolished and reinstated later in 2018. It is hoped that in the coming years other countries will be interested in the SNC and that we will be able to retain them in the official competition.
SK: What is the planned date for the next edition?
FBAT: This edition was that of regularization, the last date of 2018. We were able to regularize but the normal format happens in an even year. We are awaiting the final opinion of the authority to officially communicate the date of the next SNC. Normally, we should be able to hold the next edition in 2024.
Source: Burkina Information Agency