Dar es Salaam training empowers emerging artists, designers, and storytellers to protect their ideas and turn their talent into lasting opportunities.
A total of 50 emerging creatives gathered in Dar es Salaam for a lesson that could shape their careers for good: talent is powerful, but protected talent is transformative.
Held at the Slipway Hotel on June 18 and 19, the “Your Art, Your Power” training was organised by the Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete Foundation (JMKF), NEXLaw Advocates and the Ruge Mutahaba Foundation, bringing together young artists, musicians, designers, filmmakers and jewellers for two days on protecting and profiting from their work, covering copyright, trademarks, licensing and contracts, and institutions such as BASATA, BRELA and COSOTA.
“Tanzania’s creatives are producing extraordinary work with real economic value,” said Prof. Saudin J. Mwakaje, founding partner and head of the Intellectual Property Department at NEXLaw. “This event is about ensuring they have the tools, the knowledge, and the connections to fully own and benefit from what they create.”
The programme also touched on artificial intelligence’s impact on the creative industry and the link between creative skills and decent work, while a panel of established creatives shared lessons on building lasting careers.
Voices from the floor grounded the conversation. Veteran artist Fred Halla urged the training to reach the grassroots, where young “underground” artists often sign away their rights before realising their true value, while moderator Robert Mwampembwa said it would help artists “wake up … and start asking questions and demanding answers.”
Two days cannot solve every challenge facing Tanzania’s creative economy, but for the fifty participants, “Your Art, Your Power” offered a stronger sense that their work is an asset worth protecting. “JMKF works to ensure that young people gain 21st-century skills and have decent work, and thus we are equipping these young creatives for the creative economy,” said Ms Vanessa Anyoti, CEO of JMKF.
