Cameroon’s artists and promoters of culture since Friday, November 27, 2020 know that through their works they remain very dear to the nation and especially to the Head of State, President of the Republic, Paul Biya.
Some 63 of them are still celebrating the State recognition through their admission into the various National Orders through honorific distinctions, ranking in descending order of importance from medals of : Commander, Officer and Knight of the Order of Valour; Grand Cordon, Commander and Knight of the Order of Merit and finally the medal of Knight.
The opening ceremony of the first edition of Cameroon Artistic and Cultural Resilience Days (JRAC) on November 27, 2020 served an opportunity to pay tribute to the artists and men and women of culture. The place the artists occupy in national life was translated by the fact that the President of the Republic Paul Biya did not only give them honorific distinctions but more importantly dispatched the Prime Minister, Head of Government, Joseph Dion Ngute, his personal representative to chair the event. The Prime Minister magnified the importance of artists and men and women of culture through his speech, pinned recognition medals on some of them and took commemorative photographers to encourage them. The Minister of Arts and Culture, Bidoung Mkpatt described the event as the celebration of the generosity of the Head of State in support of the great national artistic family.
The State recognition of the worth and works of the actors in the arts and culture subsector is because of the fact that arts and culture is one of the key pillars of development and economic growth of Cameroon. Despite the coronavirus pandemic that since March this year has affected every with the arts and culture sub sector one of the worst affected, the artists have remained focused and resilience in the efforts to stagger out of the situation. According to the Prime Minister, they are some of the country’s national and international icons. Artists and promoters of culture form part and parcel of the tourism industry which is a great lever for job creation and generation of income into the State coffers.
