CISP INVITES APPLICATIONS FOR CULTURAL GRANT (NSEMPA, PAGE 20)

By Samuel Duodu, Sunyani

THE Cultural Initiative Support Programme (CISP) has launched its second call for proposals from applicants to bid for a share of GH¢300 in grants in Accra recently.
The 2million Euros aid grant from the European Union is to support the cultural sector over a three-year period.
Speaking at the opening of a five-day workshop for 40 administrators of cultural institutions across the country in Sunyani last Friday, Mr Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng, the CISP Co-ordinator noted that the current call for proposals was aimed at attracting individuals and organisations whose primary occupation was in the arts and culture field.
The training workshop, which is the second in a series for cultural administrators, was organised by CISP under the auspices of National Commission on Cultural (NCC) with funding from the European Union (EU), is also aimed at equipping the participants to go and train others in their various institutions and organisations.
Participants
The participants who were drawn from all the 10 regions of the country, were taken through topics such as Developing a Corporate Mission, Developing a Project Proposal for Financial Assistance for a Cultural Programme/activity, Introduction of Techniques in Report Writing for Cultural Programmes and Activities, Developing, Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for Cultural Programmes, Management Practice, Explanation and Definition of Accounts.
Mr Gyan-Apenteng explained that the grants were provided for the following categories, which included cultural heritage, performing arts, fine art and craft, film and audio-visual art and language and literary arts.
According to him, there was no minimum amount, but the maximum that one could apply for under the facility was GH¢16,000.
Mr Gyan-Apenteng stated that during the first grant cycle, 50 applicants were successful out of a total of 1,600 applications received, saying that the evidence from the first call for proposals suggested that most people filled the forms hastily without thinking about what they proposed to do with the money, while others thought wrongly that this was a kind of micro-credit scheme to support their businesses in a general way.
He therefore urged the participants to acquaint themselves with the application processes for the grant in order to help other people to have access to the funds.

Grants
Mr Gyan-Apenteng also used the occasion to dispel the notions held by people that the fund was there for certain people, hence the small number of grants provided under the first call for proposals saying, the “CISP does a lot more than provide funds and this kind of training that we are opening today, testifies to the diverse nature of this organisation.”
He however gave the assurance that the amount for the second call for proposals had been doubled and hoped that there would be an improvement in the number of grant recipients this time around.
Mr Gyan-Appenteng said the deadline for the call was December 15, 2008 and urged individuals and organisations who wished to apply for the grant, to collect application forms from the CISP Office in Accra or from any Regional or District Centres for National Culture, adding that the forms were free.
Mr Walsman Azaanab, the Director of the Brong Ahafo Regional Centre for National Culture in his welcome address, paid glowing tribute to the administrators and financiers of the grant for the CISP, saying the programme had come at an opportune time to help build the capacities of players in the culture industry of the country.