A3K CHAIRMAN REPORT 2024 7th March 2024.
Good afternoon everyone,
It is with great honour that I welcome you all to this annual general meeting of the Association of Animation Artistes Kenya 2024. As a representative of the office of the association, we are grateful for you having honoured our request and for you having purposed to attend this AGM, a key day in the calendar of events of our community for us to take account of where we are as an association, have impactful discussion of where we would want to go and to remain legal to what is expected of us by the registrar of societies. As we start our deliberation, reports, and discussion for the day, it is my hope that we will all have a wonderful moment, make the right decision toward the continuous growth of our association, and also to have a moment of reflection with regards to what the association has achieved this far.
By having you here today as members of the association, it’s a great indication that we all believe in the spirit of the association and remain true to our vision of unifying and empowering our animation community through the set down missions, goals, and objectives of our association as listed in our constitution. As we recap the progress made by the association office and members in the years 2023-2024, we are grateful for the tremendous opportunities and growth that the association has seen within the last 346 days since March 27th of last year which was the day that we had our Annual General Meeting.
Within this period specified above, the association office has made some achievements that added value not only to the association members but, also to other animators within our jurisdiction and other creative players within the Kenyan creative industry. To name but a few, In the year 2023, not counting the events of International Animation Day, the association managed to conduct six master classes, four in May under the Imarisha Ubunifu mentorship program and two in October in partnership with under Our Skin Film Festival. Also during the same period, the association office managed to plan for a Tax Workshop in partnership with the Kenya Revenue Authority in August. In conducting these workshops and master classes, the association office allowed the attendees of this workshop to learn, network, and consume quality content that will be impactful to the whole association in the long run through mentorship and peer sharing.
In consideration of the whole stick growth of individuals within our animation community, the association office arranged for an outdoor hangout on the 24th of June 2023, where members of the association and friends of the association had a light moment at Karura Forest, as a way of unwind and get of their workstation. This outdoor activity gave the members of the association a moment to share and have fun in a not-so-official way and also to exercise as all the participants went for a nature walk and later settled in the evening for a light lunch at the Karura Picnic site. Besides this In last year’s International Animation Day Celebration, the association office managed to organize a mental health awareness workshop which was conducted by Angela Mwihaki. In this Mental Health Awareness Workshop, the attendees were given an insight into how to deal with various stresses of life and difficulties of the work environment and, also advised on the steps to take if one wasn’t at ease and felt they were drifting away from their normal self.
Besides the above achievements, in the year 2023, the association office fulfilled one of its key mandates of representation of its members in different stakeholder engagements by having representatives of the office and various members attend some of the key stakeholder events that happened throughout the year. For instance, in representing its members and the animation community in Kenya the association office attended the Kenya Film Commission strategic plan validation, the Kenya Film and Television Producers Association Summit, denoted as State of the Film Industry in Kenya Summit 2023, Real Reflection and Under Our skin film festival, GIZ engagement of Project Appraisal Mission feedback, GIZ Cultural and Creative Industry Assessment & Evaluation, the Kenya Film Commission Film Industry Satellite Account (FISA) Launch, GIZ the Kenya Film Commission Code of Conduct and Creative Industry Registration guide Perusal and Validation, Konza Technopolis and Triggerfish Foundation Meeting to seek areas of partnership and collaboration and, Konza Technopolis Creative Industry Summit. In trying to help with annual stakeholder initiatives and projects, the association office is glad to have had representation in the Kenya Film Commission Oscar Selection Committee since 2018 to date where Japheth Mandela is our current representative of the association. Nevertheless, the association is happy to have had members of the association represent our association and our community in the Kalasha jury for several years.
In line with building and fostering relationships past the boundaries of our region and jurisdiction, I am glad to report to you that in the year 2023, the Association secretary, Emily Nyabere got a special invitation to travel to South Africa for the Second time from her initial travel in 2022, to represent the association in Fakugesi Intermediary forum. Moreover, through the courteous funding of GIZ Kenya and GIZ South Africa, the chair of the association had a chance to attend Durban Film Mart, to benchmark network, and try to seek areas of collaboration with other creative players in the African creative industry. Out of these two travels of the Association officials south, we were graced to have our first international partnership with Fakugesi which built up to us having the first ever Animation, Gaming, and XR (Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality) Intermediaries event right here in our Capital City Nairobi. During this event which happened during International Animation Day, We were honoured to have Eduardo Cachucho and Avuzwa Ntshongwana from South Africa, Fakugesi and Tshimilong join us psychically and Dr. Tegan Bristow of Wits University Join Us Virtually for the great discussions on the role of intermediaries in the creative value chain. In October 2023, the chair of the association, Naftally Muriuki also got an opportunity to travel to France, Paris together with other creative industry players for the Creation Africa Forum courtesy of the French Embassy and Alliance Francaise Nairobi. On this travel to Paris, I am happy to announce that the association had quite a good representation as Chief Nyamweya our member, Kelvin Shani our Vice-chair and Mary Wanjiru had an opportunity to attend as individuals and also as ambassadors of our growing Kenya animation industry. The Creation African forum is a new initiative by the French government that purpose to create a dedicated platform for the production and circulation of emerging artistic creations and expressions and we hope that all members can leverage this opportunity in the future,
In closing the year 2023, the association office was graced to be able to organize an awesome International Day celebration (IAD), an event that took place for two days on October 27th and the 28th. During last year’s IAD, we are glad to have had several sub-events ranging from workshops, talks, panel discussions, and exhibitions. with the spirit of building the animation ecosystem wholesomely, we were honoured to have freelance animation practitioners, students of animation, lecturers of animation, founders, and CEOs of Kenyan animation Studios, Tv and animation Producers, Film Distribution and Marketing representatives, Giz Development Agency representatives, other stakeholders and government, representative grace our two-day event. In the planning of the International Animation Day Celebration, the office of the association sought the help of a committee and additional volunteers to see the successful accomplishment of the business of the two. In consideration of the efforts of all the committee members who helped the association manage this event, the association office thought it wise to arrange a dinner event for this committee volunteers and give them an honourary membership to the association for one year as a token of appreciation and a motivation for them engaging fully in association matters as registered members. In making this decision the office relied on the key drive of the association which is to build a stronger association of individuals and practitioners, who can show up and be active in the majority of the association’s engagement and events, if not all.
In the spirit of partnership and collaboration, in the year 2023, the association office managed to have many initiatives and engagements with different players and stakeholders in the Kenyan creative industry. This partnership and collaboration were great initiatives for A3K in pushing the agendas and objectives of our association. To name but a few, we are grateful to Sirnare Studios, The Tsunami Studios, Chomoka Studio, and Ada Animation for honouring our request to conduct workshops in the Imarisha Ubunifu Competition. Also, we would like to thank all the partners, individuals, and stakeholders who came through for us during the International Day Celebration. For Black Rhino VR, we are greatful for having allowed us to use their OUT REALITY Space, GIZ FEM LAB for sponsoring us with Space and Catering during IAD, Wabunii Sacco and Art at Work for honouring our request to do a workshop on financial literacy (Becoming Bankable), Yakwetu My-Movie Africa for conducting a workshop on marketing and distribution and being a vendor at the event and last but not least Under Ourskin Film Festival for the two-day master class in October 2023. Also, We thank Professor Njuguna Kimani for being our chief guest at the opening of IAD and the CEO of Kenya Film Commission for Gracing our event and for the support. As I close on this matter we are great as an office to all the individuals who found time through the year 2023, to participate in all A3K initiatives and events.
In counting the continuous growth of the association membership, In the year 2022, the association had a total of 17, 11 of them being full members whereas 6 of them being student members. In the year 2023 the association so the number of members increased and at the time of the 2023 AGM the association had a total of 26 registered members, with 22 being fully registered members 1 honorary member, and 3 student members. As agreed in last year’s AGM any member who had not renewed their membership by the 1st of May 2023 was going to be removed from the association registered members database. To this, after having given all members a grace period to renew their membership, on the 23rd of May 2023, 15 members of the association’s names were removed from the association’s registered member database in compliance with the agreement at the AGM. Within the year 2023, of the 15 removed members, 5 renewed their membership and we are happy to be with them here today.
Through the year 2023 building on the 11 members that were left in the association as 1st May 2024 plus the 5 that renewed their membership to make a total of 17, I am happy to announce that we have seen a steady growth in membership for the remaining part of 2023 to the beginning of the year 2024. Today as we hold this AGM the association membership has grown to 40 Members with 21 of them being fully paid memberships, 9 student memberships, and 10 honorary memberships. Since the beginning of the year 2024, to date, we have had 5 new members join the community with 3 of them being student members of the association and two of them regular members of the association. Emmanuel Chege Kamau, Samuel Osanya Opumbi, and Morgan Mwangi Kimemia we welcome you as new student members of the association, Joseph Mbau Limemia and the latest member to join our community Moses Bullut Karibuni sana and we hope that you will find value in the association.
Besides the growth in the association membership, the association office has noted a growth in the open WhatsApp community of the association Animation Artist – Kenya WhatsApp group. Since its inception to date, this open community has a total of 353 participants and the discussions within the group remain alive and captivating. With us having counted the wins that the association has had, it will be good to note that beside members of the animation community finding value in the discussions that are held on this platform from time to time, a number of participants have managed to get job opportunities, internship opportunities, and learning opportunities from this group. To Name but a few, I am glad to let you know that Joseph Wahome a student member of the association, and one of us here today got an opportunity to be selected for the Film Fupi Boot Academy program an initiative by Youth Film Platform Africa supported by the American Embassy. Also, Maureen Muriithi, a stop motion animator and puppet fabricator got a chance to travel to Mauritius for 7 week Animato Mada stop motion animation residence. Lastly from opportunities shared in this open platform, Kelvin Shani the current association chairperson got a chance to travel to Portugal for the Trojan Horse was a Unicorn Event to which he was able to get a scholarship opportunity to go study a master’s in character animation at the Gobelin School in France, Paris.
In the year 2023 besides membership registration fees, we were Graced to have funding from the French Embassy to be used in international travel. To this, we are grateful to Noukoue Serge Armand the Cultural and audiovisual attaché at the French embassy for the great help in securing the funding. Also within the same year, we were graced to have some members of the association donate to the association office and this will be shared and tabled by the treasurer of the association as he tables the financial status of the association and other annual financial statements and reports later in this meeting.
In continuing to carry out the mandates of the association, all through the year, the association office has shared with the members of the association the majority of the policy documents and calls for public participation published for amendments of such documents and also the association office has taken initiative to send memos to such policy documents with the hope of seeing the voice of those we represent is held in formulations of documents that govern the creative industry and our ecosystem at large. For instance last year the association responded to the call for Memos on the Blank tape levy proposal by the Kenya Copyright Board and participated in the perusal of the proposed code of conduct for the film industry by the Kenya Film Commission and policy document on bribery avoidance within the Kenyan creative industry. Also, during the year that was, the association was able to share critical data with members of the association who requested industrial data and the office was able to offer letters of recommendation to members of the association who requested to have recommendation letters and proof of membership to use in their various applications. Even though we still seem to be a small community, last year we had a glimpse of joy as an office when we saw the name of our Association, the Association of Animation Artists Kenya, Published in the UNESCO The African Film Industry Report as one of the active association within the Kenyan film industry.
In the year 2019, the association office then embarked on creating the website of the association which is a key and integral part of our online presence as an association and a repository of association matters. For the long haul, the website of the association has remained under lock and key as we felt it needed reviews and reviews to make it perfect as a replica of our online community. This year as we were deliberating on this matter the association office thought it wise to open the website regardless of it not being complete with consideration that the website is a living platform and by opening it up it will be the responsibility of not only the official but all the members to peruse through and share any issue and technical errors that they may encounter as they peruse the website. Today as we hold this AGM, the website of the Association is fully open for your perusal. This said though, be kind to us, and know that there are areas that still need improvement additions, or amendments and we propose to do them in due course. In celebrating this achievement, the office of the association welcomes you all to create your profiles on the website, where you can house your portfolios and other information and share them with clients and other people using a customer link that leads to your profile, denoting that you are a registered member of the association. (The link to create the profile be shared later after the AGM)
With us having covered all the good, the glamour, and the enticing works of the association, It would be a lie and awkward for us not to touch on some of the challenges, obstacles, and issues that have been a hindrance to the association within 2023/2024. As Shared in the 2022 AGM, despite the office having tried to use different means to engage the association members, there is still a low engagement from the members to the association to the office. Amongst the biggest hindrances to our growth as a unit is the tendency of the majority of registered members not to take part in association initiatives and events. In a number of cases, in particular events, the association office has noted that other players in the creative field tend to be more at ease attending association functions than registered members. To this the association finds this to be a challenge as the registered members end up not redeeming the value of the association calendar of events and hence the reason we invited you all to partake in the A3K 2023 Community Engagement Self Assessments. Using this as an example of today since the request was published only 16 people have done the assessment with 46.2% (7)being registered members of the association and 43.8% being participant of the A3K open group. 7 out of 43 registered members have taken the survey. To combat this issue of association members not participating in association activities, we hope that in the near future the association will introduce a point system that can be used to determine a member engagement in the community and offer a threshold to be met for one to renew their membership or else to have a fine or disciplinary action imposed to those who don’t meet the set threshold.
In matters of compliance and governance, as of today the 7th day of March 2024, we are happy that our association is in the right legal state with all government requirements and registrations. On matters to do with the office of the association, for the last one and a half years and one year, the association has operated with having three officials within the territories of our republic and two officials joining in to do and help in association matters virtually as they got opportunities to go study abroad. Despite the difficulties and challenges that have been in always trying to look for tallying time to do association work. I must say that the current office deserves a round of applause for remaining true to their call of service to the association and for their resilience, teamwork, and dedication to moving the association in the right direction.
Today, as we mark this momentous moment in the association, what we have achieved as an office is growth and synergy that has kept us together to burn the midnight oil as we strive to create structures for the association as we jointly took this as an initiative and the driving force of our office. As we celebrate the year-long that we have been in office as the seventh office of the association, we are glad to present to you 7 A3K Internal Policy documents for your perusal, consideration, and adoption to be legally binding documents of the association. These 5 Internal Policy Documents are
- A3k Internal Policy Document Review And Adaptation Proposed Policy Of 2024
- A3K Membership Policy Proposed Draft 1 Of 2024
- A3k Proposed Code Of Conduct Draft 1 Of 2024
- A3k Election And Leadership Succession Policy And Guidelines Proposal Draf 1 Of 2024
- Association Of Animation Artistes Kenya Logo Usage Policy Proposed Draft 1 Of 2024
In understanding that processes are of key importance, I would like to welcome you all to peruse the Adaptation policy today in this AGM and propose its passage to be a legal internal document of the Association so that it guide the association office and its members in procedures to be followed in adapting the other 4 policy documents presented today and other future policy documents of the Assocition of Animation Artist Kenya.This Policy documents will be available for your perusal later today on the association website after you have created registered for your A3K Profile on the website.
Truly, grate work and effort has gone into the drafting of the above policy documents and it’s my humble prayer and request that you shall all find time to go through this proposed draft policies and give feedback where need be before all of as association members adapt them to be our guiding document toward the future that we want for all of us. line with . To the officials of the association that I lead that took part in formulating this documents, Kelvin Shani the Vice Chair, Emily Nyabere the Secretary and Dennis Mbuthia the treasure, thank you for your time and effort in making sure this draft proposals see the light of the day.
Now, With this being a special general meeting of the association as we will be having a change of office, I believe it’s wise to take a moment and thank all those that have been of support to us as an office, in various ways whenever we called to seek assistance. Also I would like to take this special moment to thank you all for believing in us and the vision that we hold for the association.To the members here in who have volunteered their service, sweat and blood to this office including the official may you be blessed ten times fold.To all the members of the association thank you for believing in us. Truly, were it not for you believing in the association even when it could offer little we won’t have managed to come this long. Mubarikiwe sana.
To the new incoming office and all those who accepted the nomination to office and also those who nominated themselves we are honoured for your openness and acknowledgement of wanting to serve this great community. As we go into the election we are all winners because this far it’s our consolidated efforts. To those who will be elected into office today, I am glad to realize that you won’t be starting from zero and our office as we exit we will be here to see a smooth transition of the office and also we will be here to hold your hand through the transition period until you are steady enough to take the mantle with both hands.
As the new office comes to term in serving the association office, besides taking the initiative of seeing the above policy documents go through the required process and see the light of the day, Our office would like to propose as you settle down to plan your schedule and work plan for the association that you may consider initiating an amendment to the association constitution as we learned that counting on when it was written ie 2007 and the dispensation that we are living in today there are a number of clauses that needs amendment to reflect the true picture of the association as of now and to do additions to areas that may need amendment eg the Functions of the Office Barriers.
As I close on this report. Allow me to take a moment to offer my closing remark here so that I can donate the time later to other leaders of the association to give their remarks in this last AGM of our office.
Eight years ago when we embarked on the journey of restoration and reviving the association, I never knew how the journey would be. Over the years we faced many pitfalls and setbacks but we remained resilient and focused on the mission of reviving the association. Thus far I have served in three different offices of the association. Despite all the challenges that we faced, I have served with great people, some who have already left the association and some who are still in our midst. Truly it has been a remarkable journey of learning, creating networks, failing but refusing to remain down, and lastly winning over a couple of years. The meandering road that we traveled, in the beginning, seems to have started taking shape and the right trajectory.
To all those who I served with in the association office, I am really grateful and I wish you all the best in your endeavors. To you all the members of the association thank you for believing in us. To myself, as I look back I am happy for what we have achieved, we truly had our eyes on the mountain peak. Though we didn’t achieve all that we wanted to achieve looking back we have covered a lot of ranges and valleys and I am happy that there are other leaders ready to set their eyes on the mountain and let us take a break as of now. To my beloved team of 4, Ernest, Shani, Emily, and Dennis plus one more person, Our able Chair Bwana Harto whom I took the mantle from, thank you from the bottom of my heart. With you all I have form longlife relationship and I am greatly honored to have served with you.
To the Association that we have all strived to build, in believing in the spirit of association and collaboration, the spirit of growth and celebration, of our big wins and small wins. We are happy to have served you, we are happy for the journey that we have traveled and its my prayer as the new takes over, you will smile back to them and we will have moments of celebration of our achievements in the near future. Asanteni wote na tuzidi kulenga mbele.
Best Regards Naftally Muriuki, Chair_A3K 2023-2024
