Mr Mekuria ABATE
mekuria_abate@yahoo.co.uk
General Manager
Eastern Africa Theatre Institute- Ethiopian National Chapter / Mekuria Theatre Studio and Entertainment, Ethiopia
Mr Abate was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1944. He has been working as playwright, director, consultant and manager in different art and culture related organizations. He has worked as a senior founder, producer and director of Ethiopian Television Service (1967-70), Managing and Artistic Director for Ethiopian National Theatre (1970-75), as well as General Manager for Addis Ababa Cultural Hall (1976-90). Mr Abate is also one the founding members of Eastern Africa Theatre Institute.
Creativity and Globalization: The Case of Ethiopia
Conceptually, throughout the history of society, which has been in constant dynamic movement, we have benefited from the legacy of global cultural diversity, where in the process of the movement, cultural impacts and influences have played a major role in influencing and molding the wisdom of human civilization. In this process, until the present day, globalization has radically altered economies, lifestyles, political and ideological scenarios, and cultural values.
In the case of present day Ethiopia, professional institutions are limited and marginalized by the political culture. Amateurs are empowered and left to be the main actors in the field of entertainment. Therefore, marketing works of art and cultural elements attracts a great deal of amateurs and business people who do not recognize the importance of art and culture in creating a cohesive society. But rather they use it as a sheer means of making money. This leads to the production of very poor quality performances. “Adulteration and imitation” become the craft of the day. While the common practice of the day also becomes directly copying universal works of art and TO DECLARE them as original works of their people who have merely translated the works into local languages.
Disadvantages
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Undermines local creativity, artistic development, and threatens to undermine national cultural values and allows its identity to be dominated by western art forms. |
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Local cultural and artistic works lose value and not enterprising. |
Advantages
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Focuses on the preservations of cultural identities in a globalized world. |
| b) |
Promotes local creativity, originality and ownership. |
| c) |
Consciously explores global diversities of artistic works and influence for future positive direction in the developments of Ethiopian arts. |
| d) |
Provides an enterprising economy in the national and global entertainment industry. |
Mekuria ABATE先生
ABATE先生1944年於埃塞俄比亞出生。1967-70年間曾任埃塞俄比亞電視台監製及導演。他是劇作家，擔任不同藝術文化機構的管理及顧問工作。他是東非戲劇學院創會會員。
創意與全球化 : 埃塞俄比亞個案
一直以來，全球文化的多化是件好事，但現在的全球化卻大幅改變各種價值觀。在埃塞俄比亞，專業機構被政治文化邊緣化，通俗娛樂取代成文化主力。很多人拿來一些常見的藝術作品抄襲，翻譯成本地語言就自稱為創作然後去謀利。全球化的壞處包括削弱本土文化的存在及價值。好處則是保存本土文化身分、推動本土創意、啟發本土藝術發展及刺激本土創意經濟。
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