Culture and Tourism isn’t really my forte so I’d be engaging this with a bit of bias towards areas I have an active interest in; Information Technology.

We’re going to experience a new normal going forward and as such Traditional definitions or objectives of the ministry #EOC https://twitter.com/the042network/status/1259756744475136001

Will have to be redifined. With the new normal, we’d have less inter continental travel and more Intracountry movement. This definitely has to be the first Objective; identifying opportunities that lie within this sphere.

1. Get a proper website for the ministry which will be

Shared by the Min, Tourism Board and Council for arts and culture ( shared to save costs and centralize information)

2. Implement a yearly publication of upcoming festivals and Tourist attractions within the state ( This will help private sector investors to key in )

3. Identify areas of interest within affiliate agencies ( sports tourism(marathon, cyclin etc) religious tourism(awhum etc)
Cultural tourism( Iva valley, national museum)

4. Partner with govt agencies to launder the image of the state ( ESIDA, ESMC, etc while leveraging on 1.)

Creation of standardized guide maps which can be duplicated by the private tourism companies.

5. Going out of the box to partner with private bodies to be a non financial sponsor to event organizers( media coverage in exchange for partnership, this gives free access to

Premium quality content which can be used for documentaries

6. Partnering with LGAs to set up low cost arts and craft centers which will focus on woodcraft and pottery. Training and modern kiln(monetized)shall be the only Govt role

Commissioning of Documentaries with local film makers to showcase the immense culture of the state (AMVCA has a category for this).

7. Preservation of Our Traditions, sadly modernization dealt us a blow here, a conscious effort will be made to use sculptures that represent us,

that tells our story( eg, coal miners, Otigba, etc). Religious tolerance should be promoted, many are African Traditionalists and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Collaborate more with govt agencies to boost the image and reach of the ministry ( ESIDA, ESMC etc)

Embark on only one Capital Project. Building and setting up a Proper arts and Craft gallery (vis a vis Nike Art Gallery). This can be done under a PPP framework, it generates revenue, applies social distancing and promotes arts and craft

Bonus: Start a weekly publication of Folk tales, poems, idioms and proverbs (gwam gwam gwam etc) across social platforms. This can be modeled after tales by moonlight to trigger nostalgia amongst diasporas

Voluntary contributions are welcome

In all, a rejig of the workforce needs to be done to achieve this, extensive training has to be done and the engagement of a PR Agency will be needed to achieve maximum results. All these ideas will cost the barest minimum and produce visible results within 4yrs.

The idea is to spark a flame that will unlock the untapped potentials that exist within the sector while providing the backbone to kickstart this movement. @The042Network #EOC