For a long time, artists have been crying for a number of reforms to be effected in the sector to allow the players and the industry to thrive.

To say the least, the reforms have been slow to come. There has been the issue of the Arts Council which has gone on for years. Despite the incessant cries and groans from creatives, the efforts on the ground still lnot enough to realise the wish.

On Tuesday, creatives were given a reason to smile and hope when the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Wildlife in conjunction with the Copyright Society of Malawi (Cosoma) launched the Copyright Fund.

The fund has been established to meet a number of objectives and its coming should surely excite the creatives. We hereby offer snippets of how the fund has been structured and how it can be accessed. Verbatim:

Objective of the fund 2.1

The objective of the fund is to support projects/ activities aimed at – (a) developing capacity, quality and diversity of the copyright industry; (b) enhancing public education/awareness on Copyright matters; (c) offering support for law enforcement initiatives; (d) assisting in anti-piracy campaigns/activities; (e) contributing towards conserving, protecting and promoting Malawi culture within the copyright works; and (f) assisting in any other areas not mentioned above, that develop the copyright industry.

Eligibility criteria 3.1

To be eligible for a grant under the Fund, the Applicant, operating within the copyright or cultural sector in Malawi, shall meet one of the following conditions: (a) be an incorporated company or an organisation duly registered under the Laws of Malawi (e.g. foundations, associations, charities, societies, trusts in the cultural sector, etc.); (b) be government ministries, departments and agencies interested in copyright or cultural sector; (c) be research institution operating in the copyright or cultural sector; (d) be an individual or a cultural group which may require the financial assistance outside their normal budget and funding from other sources.

Public announcement for proposal 4.1

The fund manager shall, on behalf of the Fund Committee (the Committee), invite proposals for activities and projects from eligible applicants through an open call for proposals. There shall be at least one call for proposals per year. The committee may indicate thematic areas for each call and requirements to be fulfilled by the applicants.

Project duration and budgets 5.1

For a project to qualify for funding, it shall be of maximum project duration of 24 months (no minimum). Where there is potential extension of project duration, such extension shall not exceed 12 months; and 5.2 In each call for proposals, the committee shall indicate the maximum budget allocation for community, district, and national Project.

Criteria for evaluating projects 6.1

All applications/proposals shall be submitted to the fund manager who, upon receipt of the applications, will forward the applications to the committee for review and approval.

6.2 The applications shall be evaluated in accordance with the criteria determined by the committee and shall undergo the following stages: Stage 1: Applications will be checked for administrative compliance. Applications that do not meet the set requirements will not qualify for the next stage.

Stage 2: Applications shall undergo technical evaluation by the committee in accordance with the selection criteria. Where necessary, the committee may seek expert opinion on proposals that may require such. The decision of the committee shall be communicated to the Applicant within fourteen (14) days after the decision of the committee.

Criteria for awarding grant 7.1

For a proposal to be eligible for funding by the committee, it shall receive at least 75% score. The evaluation criteria and the points shall be as below: (a) Relevance with the fund priorities 40 (b) Quality of Approach and Management 15 (c) Capacity of Applicant 5 (d) Quality of Results 15 (e) Monitoring and Evaluation 5 (f) Sustainability of Project Results 10 (g) Budget 10.

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