A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words: Sudanese Artists Use Their Skills To Advocate For Development

Khartoum – 28 February – Goethe Institute in Khartoum in partnership with the German Development Service (DED), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launch the second phase of the “A picture is worth a thousand words” campaign.

The three-week liberal arts for development campaign focuses on development projects implemented by the European Commission funded and UNDP managed Recovery and Rehabilitation Programme (RRP) in Upper Nile, Blue Nile and River Nile States. Three groups, each one comprising five Sudanese artists and a graphic design trainer from Germany will visit one of the three RRP locations for one week. During these field visits, the Sudanese artists will work together with the local communities and NGOs to develop illustrations, posters and artwork highlighting development issues.

The artwork created during these training sessions will be displayed at an art exhibition hosted by the Goethe Institute Khartoum starting on 5 April. By the end of April, the exhibition will be transferred to Juba and displayed at the UNDP compound.

Drawing Sudanese artists and rural communities closer will allow delivery of development messages in a visual style that speaks to rural Sudanese subtle beliefs and feelings. The campaign is an advocacy tool that encourages Sudanese artists to use their artistic skills to advocate for development and reinforces other communications tools ranging from circle discussions to radio for development. Using Illustrations, cartoons and pictorials has proven to be an efficient way of informing and sensitizing rural populations with a high rate of illiteracy, on new cultivating methods, immunization campaigns, environment protection, or other sensitive social issues.

The first stage of this campaign took place nearly one year ago in cooperation with the German Development Service. The campaign developed the artistic skills of 13 artists from across Sudan to enable them to work with development organizations, including local NGOs, in promoting and advocating for development in Sudan. In addition to developing their technical skills and creativity, the artists also learned how to analyze the work of development organizations in order to illustrate it by appealing to the local cultures.

The second phase of the “A picture is worth a thousand words” campaign focuses on field training. Sudanese artists will visit several RRP projects and interact with local communities in the Upper Nile, Blue Nile and River Nile States.

The 54,325 million Euro programme Recovery and Rehabilitation Programme, which is serving 800,000 Sudanese, is the largest recovery initiative across Sudan. A total of 47 national and international NGOs are working together to build schools, healthcare centers, and water networks; improve people’s livelihoods through vocational training, agricultural projects, and peace-building initiatives; and increase capacity through training local government administrations.

For further information please contact:

Angela Gruenert, Project Coordinator, Goethe Institute in Khartoum: + 249 (0) - 9115500891 ; angelagruenert@web.de
Erich Beining, Country Director, German Development Service: + 249 (0) - 912306484 ; erich.beining@ded.de
Alexander O’Riordan, Recovery and Rehabilitation Programme Manager, UNDP Sudan: alexander.oriordan@undp.org

UNDP is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life.