Selam is registered as an international cultural NGO in Ethiopia (Selam Ethiopia) since 2005 and has an office and a studio on site in Addis Abeba. We organize cultural collaboration- and knowledge exchange activities such as tours, residencies and workshops between mainly European, African and South American musicians, artists and cultural producers. We also lead and implement long-term culture projects with the overall aim to strengthen culture sectors and culture actors abilities to promote positive social development.
The projects and the activities are administrated by local coordinators within the concerned country as well as by the Selam-team in Stockholm. All of Selams international activities has the overall purpose to develop the capacity within culture sectors through supporting existing and new infrastructure and internal capacity. This is achieved through the organizing of educations and workshops for culture actors such as musicians, producers, sound- and light engineers, managers, organizers, cultural journalists and others. These activities are implemented in collaboration with international partners
The aim is to enhance the value and potential of culture within the socioeconomic development of societies, private sectors, and amongst policymakers. The activities establishes and enables networks between professional actors within the culture sector with a particular focus on the music industry on a local, regional and international level. A thriving and multifaceted cultural life constitutes the core of an open and transparent society. The music area, which is part of the broad culture sector, offer great opportunities for societies’ development from a social, economic and political perspective. To achieve this there is a need for educations, associations, governmental guidelines, corporations and media channels that encourages and supports creativity and diversity amongst artists, musicians and cultural entrepreneurs.
Within the projects, Selam supports interest organizations within the culture area and produces and distributes facts, studies and mappings of the culture sector in the concerned country. We collaborate with a large amount of international stakeholders including institutions, public universities and private schools, associations, networks, groups of as well as individual culture actors, concert venues, embassies, governmental organs, private corporations and the media.
The various international projects has to date mainly been funded by Sida, the Swedish Institute, Forum Syd, the Nordic Culture Fond and from 2013 we also have support from the Swedish Postcode Lottery.
