Post at 1 June 2022

Antananarivo, May 24, 2022 – On the occasion of World Biodiversity Day, May 22, 2022, FAPBM in collaboration with the artists’ association, La Teinturerie, is launching a competition of small cultural projects “Art and Biodiversity” to support cultural initiatives that contribute to the advocacy of protection and preservation of biodiversity in Madagascar. The theme chosen is the one which has been announced by the United Nations for 2022 “Building a shared future for all life”

Madagascar enjoys a rich biodiversity unique worldwide. The proportion of endemic species of the Island, both in fauna and flora, reaches 87%. But above all, biodiversity is essential for human well-being. The water that we drink or that feeds in the hydropower stations of the country, the food that we eat, the medicines that treat us, to mention only a few examples, come from nature. Unfortunately, this capital is diminishing day by day in such a way that no less than 25% of the country’s species are threatened with extinction. Moreover, Madagascar is among the 5 countries most exposed to the damages due to climate change. This is evidenced by the violence of the last cyclones that hit the Island (Batsirai, Emnati), causing hundreds of thousands of victims. The preservation of biodiversity is more than an emergency in Madagascar: protected areas contribute to it by constituting a protective structure.

Art and culture have been identified as effective vectors for raising public awareness. Non-profit economic players such as social enterprises, Malagasy civil society organizations, and artists who have been living in Madagascar for at least one year are therefore invited to propose cultural projects that will raise awareness among the population, especially young people, about the role played by biodiversity and protected areas in their way of life: in matter of water, energy, food, etc. This call for small projects concerns the following disciplines: Visual Arts, Performance Art, Photography, Drawing, Digital Arts, Film/Video Arts.

The organizers will award 3 cultural projects up to MGA 1,000,000 each, based on 5 criteria:

  • Ease of implementation of the project technically and financially;
  • Capacity of the project to sensitize young people on the role played by biodiversity and protected areas in their way of life: in matter of water, energy, food, etc. ;
  • Number of people reached by the project;
  • Artistic originality of the project;
  • Presence of co-financers.

The rules and the application form are available on the FAPBM website (www.fapbm.org) and can be requested by email from the organizers. Completed applications must be submitted by email to association.lateinturerie@gmail.com with a copy to mail@fapbm.org by Thursday, June 30 at midnight. The selected projects will be announced in early July and must be completed by November of this year 2022.

About the “ Madagascar Biodiversity and Protected Areas Fund (FAPBM)”

Created in 2005, thanks to the initiative of the Government of Madagascar and international organizations committed to conservation (WWF and Conservation International), FAPBM is a private Malagasy trust fund dedicated to the conservation of Madagascar biodiversity. Its mission consists in contributing to the sustainable funding of Madagascar’s Protected Areas System (SAPM) , to contribute to the conservation of biodiversity, the maintenance of ecosystem services, the population’s well-being, the fight against climate change and promote SAPM good management.

About La Teinturerie

La Teinturerie Association, an artists’ association, was founded in 2014; its mission consists in the promotion of visual art and all other art forms, in improving access to art and culture to as many people as possible, welcoming foreign artists in creative residency, helping artists to exchange, to train, to create and emancipate themselves.

Contact:

Jade ANDRIANJAKAlateinturerie.association@gmail.com – +261 34 01 990 77

Roda OPERMANroperman@fapbm.org – +261 34 02 265 01