Ghanaian award-winning filmmaker and Creative Director, Kofi Asamoah, has been nominated and selected by the U.S. Embassy in Accra to participate in a professional exchange program managed through the US Department of State in partnership with Meridian International Center and UNESCO.
The fully funded program entitled, “Intellectual Property Best Practices for Creative Entrepreneurs and Policy Makers”, takes 8 individuals from Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire to the United States for a two-week program, June 22 to July 3, 2024. The program will travel to DC, Atlanta and LA focusing on meeting with experts in the creative industry, specifically film and music, as well as have a dedicated focus on copyright law and application.
The Department of State has outlined the following specific objectives for the project:
* Exchange best practices with U.S. policymakers, at the state and local levels, to improve the operating environment, drive employment growth, and attract global investment into their local creative markets;
* Examine the creative industries’ infrastructure and business ecosystem; with input from IP experts, film and recording studios, industry associations, and other thought leaders; and
* Gain exposure to key business tools used by members of the creative economy to scale work globally.
Kofi Asamoah, who is also CEO of Kofas Media, describes the opportunity as ‘ golden ‘. In a Facebook post, he thanked The US Embassy in Accra and The US department of state for recognizing the need to impact the local Creative ecosystem.