Cultural Policy in the Revolutionary People's Republic of Guinea 9231017225, 9789231017223

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Cultural policy in the

/i

Revolutionary People's Republic of Guine3 The Ministry ofEducation and Culture under the auspices of the Guinean National Commission for Unesco

Studies and documents on cultural policies

Recent titles in this series: Cultural policy in Colombia,by Jorge Eliécer Ruiz and Valentina Marulanda Aspects of Algerian cultural policy, by S i d - A b e d Baghli Cultural policy in the Republic of Panama, by the National Institute of Culture Culturalpolicy in Bolivia,by Mariano Baptista Gumucio Cultural policy in Argentina, by Edwin R.Harvey Cultural policy in the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, by the Institute of Art Criticism, Ethnography and Folklore of the Academy of Sciences of the Byelorussian SSR For a complete list of titles see page 92

Published in 1979 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 7 Place de Fontenoy, 75700 Paris Printed by Imprimerie des Presses Universitaires de France, Vendôme

ISBN 92-3-101722-5 French edition: 92-3-201722-9

8 Unesco 1973 Binred in France

Preface

T h e purpose of this series is to s h o w how cultural policies are planned and implemented in various M e m b e r States. As cultures differ, so does the approach to them; it is for each M e m b e r State to determine its cultural policy and methods according to its own conception of culture, its socio-economic system, political ideology and technical development. However, the methods of culturalpolicy (like those of general development policy) have certain c o m m o n problems; these are largely institutional, administrative and financial in nature, and the need has increasingly been stressed for exchanging experiences and information about them. This series, each issue of which follows as far as possible a similar pattern so as to m a k e comparison easier, is mainly concerned with these technical aspects of cultural policy. In general, the studies deal with the principles and methods of cultural policy, the evaluation of cultural needs, administrative structures and management, planning and financing, the organization of resources, legislation, budgeting, public and private institutions, cultural content in education, cultural autonomy and decentralization, the training of personnel, institutional infrastructuresfor meeting specific cultural needs, the safeguarding of the cultural heritage, institutions for the dissemination of the arts, international cultural co-operation and other related subjects. T h e studies, which cover countries belonging to differing social and economic systems, geographical areas and levels of development, present therefore a wide variety of approaches and methods in cultural policy. Taken as a whole, they can provide guidelines to countries that have yet to establish cultural policies, while all countries, especially those seeking n e w formulations of such policies, can profit by the experience already gained. This study w a s prepared for Unesco by the Ministry of Education and Culture under the auspices of the Guinean National Commission for Unesco. T h e authors are responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts contained in this book and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of Unesco and do not commit the Organization.

Contents

9

Introduction

11

Geography

21

A brief history of Guinea

26

Structure of the Party-State: executive bodies and procedures

31

The socialist cultural revolution

34

Education and instruction

43

Training and further training

48

National languages and education

52

Guinean scientific research

59

Youth and culture

69

The arts

84

Information

Introduction

The determination of the peoples of the world to enjoy all aspects of universal culture is a fundamentalfeatureofcontemporary history. It could not be otherwise, given the irresistible development of the revolutionary process, which has demolished social and economic structures based on the exploitation of man by man. Until recently, the people of Guinea, and most other African peoples, lived under the iniquitous yoke of colonial domination. Colonization shattered the history of continuous freedom of the human communities that made up these peoples, and arbitrarily fettered them to the logic of the economic, administrative, military and cultural system that was the essence of imperialism. In this way, it brought about large-scale cultural depersonalization and the negation of national life in the colonized territories. Imperialism resorted to violence and bloodshed to supplant the authentic culture of the people with the indigénat,l an intolerable social situation in which racial discrimination went hand in hand with tribalism and cultural alienation. The unparalleled spirit of samifice, heroism and h u m a n dignity shown by the masses during the struggle against colonial penetration was adulterated,debased and even systematically smothered. All the resources of the imagination and unreason were called into play to present a picture of the exploited peoples of Africa as peoples devoid of culture. However, any authentic culture that is deeply rooted in the lives of the people has built-inresistance to all attempts to smother it and an ability to ensure its o w n preservation and perpetuation in the creative consciousness of the people as an ever-fertileseed of progress. Such is the case with the moral and socio-culturalvalues of the people of Guinea. The Guinean people, seeking to revive the finest traditions of their past 1. A form of administrative rule to which the native population waa subject in colonial times.

9

Introduction

struggle, have m a d e intensive efforts, under the banner of the Parti Démocratique de Guinée, to liberate themselves completely from every form of foreign domination. T h e words of the Supreme Leader of the Revolution, President A h m e d Sékou Touré, are appropriate in this context:

If society is to develop, constantly increase its means of subsistence,and continually improve its mode of production and production relationships,it has to be completelyfree. T h i s means that it has to be free in its way of thinking,free in its decision-making, free in the w a y it acts, and free in the management of its heritage. Only then will it be able to give free rein to its creative genius. It is hardly surprising therefore that the attainment of political independence w a s for the people of Guinea a powerful lever with which to force their w a y vigorously back into history and assert the true identity of their national culture. A popular, revolutionary culture is what befits a free, sovereign people, imbued with the desire for constant improvement. Culture, as a whole range of forms through which the creative genius of a people is expressed, is a particularly suitable tool for subduing nature and achieving economic and social freedom. It m a y be claimed without fear of exaggeration that the triumph of a genuinely popular revolution, whereby fettered social forces were released and ‘brought back to the surface of life’, w a s the most important factor in the unprecedented develo p m e n t of cultural life in Guinea. This is the political platform on which the Parti Démocratique de Guinée has based the powerful socialist cultural revolution it launched on 2 August 1968 and has since developed, with the legitimate aim of stimulating the creation of a genuine ‘mass’civilization that fosters all the abilities of the people. T h e socialist cultural revolution has enabled the people, following the example of Prometheus, to rend their chains and snatch from their exploiters the material and intellectual resources they have developed and fashioned into the weapons of their complete liberation. T h e brilliant successes scored in this n e w ‘field of culture’ m a y be explained by the irrevocable commitment of the Party-State of Guinea to a cultural policy, the main lines of which are conceived, controlled and implemented by the people for their o w n exclusive benefit. T h e people will, from n o w on, be in a position to assimilate the most outstanding cultural achievements of mankind, deepen the knowledge of the cultural values of Africa and work for the dissemination of their o w n expressions of revolutionary culture. T h e following study gives an account of this cultural policy. T h e effective implementation of such a policy, through a suitable strategy, has alone enabled the Revolutionary People’s Republic of Guinea to gain international renown as a ‘living part of Africa, a small piece of this continent which pulsates, feels, acts and thinks in keeping with its o w n particular destiny’.

10

Geography

The Revolutionary People’s Republic of Guinea is situated in W e s t Africa between latitude 70 and 120 N and longitude 80 and 150 W.It touches on Guinea-Bissauin the north-west,Senegal and Mali in the north, the Ivory Coast in the east, Liberia in the south-east,Sierra Leone in the south, and is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the west, with a coastline of approximately 300 k m stretching from the fles Tristan in the north to Pointe Sallatouk in the south. Guinea has an area of 245,875 square kilometres.

Physical geography

The country is divided into four natural regions: Lower Guinea, the Fouta Djallon Plateau (Middle Guinea), the Upper Basin of the Niger (Upper Guinea) and South-East Guinea (the Forest Region). S T R U C T U R E A N D RELIEF

During the pre-Cambrian, a crystalline basement complex was formed consisting essentially of granites and metamorphic rocks (gneiss,quartzites, schists and micaceous schists), covering the Forest Region, Upper Guinea and the sections bounded by the Eastern Fouta and the regions of Dubréka and Forécariah in Lower Guinea. As a result of the submersion of the western part of Guinea in the Primary era, a sedimentary covering was deposited between the Cambrian and the Devonian. This covering consisted mainly of sandstone and accounts for the sedimentary rocks of the Fouta Djallon Plateau and its spurs in Lower Guinea. In the Secondary, eruptive rocks appeared: dolerites outcropping generally at the level of the thalwegs and covering particularly many of the plateaux in Middle Guinea, Finarioh kimberlites in the Kérouané region,

11

Geography

the gabbros and dunites of the Kaloum Peninsula, and the nephelinic syenites of the Loos Islands. The Tertiary was marked particularly by tectonic movements. In the Quaternary, marine alluvia were deposited all along the Guinean coastline except for Cap Verga and part of the Kaloum Peninsula. The crystalline massifs and the sedimentary plateaux were affected by various systems of faults, particularly tetragonal faults, which displaced the Fouta Djallon Plateau and in many cases set the course of rivers and streams. The nature of the rocks, their deformations and their differential resistance combined to give a variety of reliefs. Altitude varies between 1,752 m at Mont Nimba, the highest point in the country,and sea-level.Lower Guinea consists of a fairly narrow coastal plain, dominated by coastal massifs, the western spurs of the Fouta. These include M t Kakoulima (1,007 m), 40 km from Conakry; Mt Gangan (1,116m), which rises above the town of Kindia;the Benna massif (1,124m), dominating the Moussaya plains in the Administrative Region of Forécariah; the secondary chains of Cap Verga in the Boffa Region, and the lateritic plateaux of Boké, Boffa and Fria. The Guinean coastline,which is generally low-lying and marshy, apart from the rocky promontories of the Kaloum Peninsula and Cap Verga, includes numerous islands (the islands of Tristan, Binari, Maraya, Quito, Loos, Kakossa, Kaback, etc.), bays (the Sangarea bay at Dubreka) or rias, tidal estuaries, and rivers (Rio Compony, Rio Numez, Rio Katako or Kapatchez, Rio Pongo, Rio Konkour6, Rio Forécariah). The relief of the Fouta Djallon Plateau contains a number of contrasting features. Plateaux of various altitudes, plains and internal depressions, deep valleys, escarpments of varying heights, cols, waterfalls and rapids create a mountainous landscape, although the highest point, Mt Loura in the Mali Region,is only 1,538m above sea-level. The Fouta Djallon Plateau can be divided into three zones.The Central Fouta, a kind of gallery with an average height of 1,200 m , stretches from the Mamou-Dalaba plateaux in the south to Mt Loura in the north. It dominates the very steep Western Fouta in the west and, in the east, the Eastern Fouta,which joins up with the Upper Niger basin. The natural region of Upper Guinea corresponds roughly to the upper basin of the Niger; the average height is 800 m on the plateaux and 400 m in the valleys of the River Noir and its tributaries. The highest parts of this region are the Banko (1,028m), Balayan (1,025m)and Menien massifs in the west, and Koumbankourou in the Kankan Region. The Forest Region owes its name to a dense forest, which has degenerated to a greater or lesser degree and which gives the vegetation of this south-easternregion a distinctive character. However, the relief is not uniform. The region has swamps, valleys, tabular areas or ridges, and it also has thrusting massifs that abut against the border with Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Ivory Coast and are known as the ‘Backbone of Guinea’.

12

Geography

These include the Dar0 massif, where the Niger rises, the high plateaux of Macenta, the F o n and Simandou ranges, which run from north to south, the Ber0 and Tetini massifs and Mt Nimba, which straddles the border between Guinea, Liberia and the Ivory Coast. CLIMATE

Guinea lies in the tropical zone of the northern hemisphere and on the whole enjoys a humid tropical climate, with two seasons: the rainy or ‘winter’season during the northern summer, and a dry season, which lasts the longest in the north. Each of the four natural regions has its o w n type of climate: a monsoon tropical climate, gometimes called the sub-Guinean climate, in Lower Guinea; an altitudinal tropical climate k n o w n as the Fouta climate, on the Fouta Djallon Plateau; a dry tropical climate, called the South Sudanese climate in Upper Guinea; and a subequatorial climate in the Forest Region. The monsoon climate of the coastal region is characterized by relatively high temperatures (250-300 C on average), a high degree of humidity, and abundant rainfall varying from an average of 4,500 m m in Conakry to 2,600 m m a year in Boké, with m a x i m u m rainfall in August. The Fouta climate is characterized by moderate temperatures on account of the altitude. However, the temperature range is quite considerable, for the cool, dry period (December to February) when the harmattan (the continental wind) blows from the north-east contrasts with the hot, dry period (from March to April). O n the Central Fouta, particularly in Dalaba and Mali, the temperature m a y drop below 100 C in the night and morning in December and January, while in March and April the daytime temperature is generally above 300 C. Rainfall varies between 2,200 m m on the western slope, exposed to the maritime monsoon from the south-west, and 1,500 m m on the eastern slope, which is sheltered from the moist air masses. O n the whole, the rainy season (from M a y to October) and the dry season each last about six months. The climate of the upper basin of the Niger gives a lower annual rainfall (around 1,500 m m on average), and the year is divided into a seven-month dry season and a five-month rainy season. Rainfall decreases towards the north and east, and the dryness of the air masses becomes more marked towards the interior. In Upper Guinea the dominant wind is the north-east trade wind. It is cool and dry from December to February; and it is hot and dry during the hot period of the dry season (the end of February to the end of May), particularly in the north and east. O n account of its more southerly position and the relatively high massifs, the Forest Region has a subequatorial climate with a predominant wet season (eight to ten months of rain) and an average annual rainfall of between 2,000 and 2,500 mm. The dry season is shorter towards the south, lasting four months in the Kissidougou and Beyla regions and t w o months

13

Geography

in the Lola, N’Zérékoré and Y o m o u regions. Rainfall increases with altitude (about 2,800 m m on the upper plateaux of Macenta). T h e Forest Region also shows a contrast between the northern side, which is exposed to the harmattan and is consequently drier, and the southern side, which faces the monsoon, on the Atlantic coast. On the whole, the annual temperature range is small. HYDROGRAPHY

T h e Guinean hydrographic system is the densest in West Africa. T h e fluvial system is closely related to climate and relief. Its irregularity is explained by the contrast between the dry season and the wet season, coupled with the existence of waterfalls and rapids. T h e navigable reaches are limited to the tidal river estuaries and various isolated sections such as the Niger from Kourouassa onwards and the Milo from Kankan. T h e upstream sections of rivers are often dry for part of the year. Guinea has t w o watersheds, viz. the Fouta Djallon, known as the water-tower of West Africa, and the massifs of the Backbone of Guinea in the Forest Region. Upper Guinea is a hydrographic basin drained by the Niger and its tributaries. These tributaries are the Tinkisso in the west, into which flows the Bouka from the eastern slopes of the Fouta; in the east, the Mafou, the Niandan, the Milo and the Sankarani, which rise in the Backbone of Guinea. T h e M a k o n a with its tributary the Melli, and the Diani with its tributary the Oulé, the Cavally, the G o u a n (or Bafing Sud) and the Férédougouba, which are both tributaries of the Sassandra in the Ivory Coast, also rise in the Backbone of Guinea and flow towards the Atlantic Coast of Sierra Leone, Liberia or the Ivory Coast. F r o m the western slopes of the Fouta, the following rivers flow into the Atlantic: the Koliba, formed by the confluence of the K o m b a and the Tominé at Gaoual, which flows into the Atlantic o n the coast of GuineaBissau; the Cogon, which is called the Rio C o m p o n y in the coastal area; the Tinguilita, which becomes the Rio N u m e z ; the Fatala, which is the Rio Pongo at its mouth; the Konkouré, which drains a dense hydrographic basin; the Rio Forécariah and the Mellacorée. O n the northern slope of the Fouta Plateau are the upstream section of the Gambia basin and the Bafing. This river rises in the M a m o u region and at Bafoulabé in Mali flows into the Bakoy (which rises in the western region of Sigiri) to form the Senegal River. T h e watershed between the basins of the coastal watercourses of the Atlantic and the Senegal and Niger basins runs approximately through the Central Fouta and the middle section of the Backbone of Guinea. VEGETATION

T h e landscape of the Forest Region is essentially dominated by the dense forest. This has been degraded in varying degrees through clearing, bush

14

Geography

fires, cultivation, and felling for domestic, craft or industrial purposes. The primary forest,consisting of several varieties of tree,n o w survives only in certain sections of listed forest areas and relict forests,and on some isolated high summits. In the northern part (the Kissidougou and Beyla regions), it has been practically replaced by the open secondary forest and in places by savannah. In Lower Guinea vegetation is composed of red and white mangroves on the tidal shores, a screen of coconut palms and other palm-trees on the offshore bars, gallery forests along the watercourses and, inland, open forests or savannah. On the Fouta Djallon Plateau, apart from the gallery forests,savannah woodlands or open forests are to be found on some slopes and high summits, where the characteristic trees are the Guinea plum (kuru or Purinaris excelsa) and the néré. On the lateritic or ‘Bowé’plateaux, the vegetational cover is limited to a: thin carpet of plants here and there, dominated by scattered trees and shrubs. In Upper Guinea,a savannah containing trees and shrubs is to be found on the plateaux, where the most c o m m o n tree is the shea tree, which has been saved by deforestation. Gallery forests of varying density grow along the Niger and its tributaries. On the whole, two kinds of soil are found in Guinea: alluvial soils that are generally hydromorphic, and uncovered ferralitic soils. The alluvial soils are to be found along rivers and streams (especially in the valleys of the Niger and its tributaries), in the interior depressions (the swamps of the Forest Region, the ayndhe of Middle Guinea) or in plains or peripheral depressions such as the Badiar plains to the north-westof the Fouta. They are particularly present in the low-lying coastal plains situated on the marine alluvia of the Quaternary where the clayey-muddy and clayeysandy hydromorphic soils, known as the poto-poto soils, have developed. The ferralitic soils are the result of the superficial laterization of the sedimentary or eruptive rocks, which contain a preponderance of iron and aluminium silicates. This process involves the more or less complete elimination of the silica and the retention of a large proportion of the aluminium and iron as hydroxides. These lateritic plateaux are particularly developed in the ‘Bowé’ zones to the south of Gaoual,to the east of Boké and to the west of Télimélé. ‘Bowé-ization’has gone so far there that the soil is practically mineral.

Fauna The Guinean fauna has dwindled,to a greater or lesser extent according to the regions, as a result of deforestation, hunting and the destruction of predatory animals. The hyenas that used to be a frequent sight around the villages have practically disappeared. Panthers and lions survive only in reserves or areas protected by the Water and Forestry Administration. With the exception of the Forest Region, however, animals are to be

15

Geography

found throughout the country. The most c o m m o n are monkeys, dogfaced baboons, warthogs, reptiles, rabbits, deer and birds. The areas with the most game are the Gaoual region, the Wouré-Kaba in the M a m o u region, the interior plateaux of the Boké region,the northern border areas of the Koundara, Mali, Koubia, Tougué and Dinguiraye regions, and certain isolated areas in the Forécariah and Dubréka regions and the western part of the Siguiri region.

Human geography According to the census taken on 30 December 1972, the Revolutionary People's Republic of Guinea had a population of 5,143,248.In an area of 245,857km2,this gives an average density of twenty inhabitants per square kilometre. On the whole, the country has a very high birth rate and an average death rate, hence the high population growth rate, estimated at 2.8 per cent a year. The population is essentially young,with a high proportion under 15 years of age and a low percentage of old persons. The population is unevenly distributed over the country. Among the urban centres Conakry, the capital, easily leads, with a population of 500,000, followed by Kankan, Labé, N'Zérékoré, Kindia, Macenta and Mamou, and the industrial cities of Fria and Kamsar. The populated rural areas are on the Central Fouta, headed by the Labé region and the Timbis plains in the Pita region. The least populated areas are the woodlands of the Forest Region, the lateritic plateaux of the Bowé zones and the border areas of the north. The population is varied ethnically and linguistically, with marked group interpenetration in contact areas and in a number of urban centres such as Conakry, Mamou, Kindia, Boké, Fria and Kamsar. In Lower Guinea the main language is Susu, which is spoken by the Susu,the Bagas, the Landoumas, the Nalous, the Mikifores and the Mandanys, together with the Diakanké and Tyapi groups. On the Fouta Djallon Plateau communities of Diallonkés, Sarakollés, Diakankas, Bassaris, Badiarankés and Fulacundas live alongside the Podar-speakingFulbé. In Upper Guinea the c o m m o n language is Maninka, which is spoken by the Malinkés and by the Ouassoulounké Fulbé. In the Forest Region several ethnic and linguistic groups are found, including the Kissi-speaking Kissi, the Lomaghoi-speaking Tomas, the Kpéllé-speaking Guerzé, the Koniankés, Konons, Manons and Lélés. Habitat varies from region to region. The Baga live in a rural habitat in the form of the street village on the offshore bars. Cluster viUages are found in the clearings of the Forest Region or in the Susu country. Grouped villages surrounded by scattered peripheral hamlets are c o m m o n in Middle Guinea. The urban habitat has developed at an extremely rapid pace since independence.The rural habitat is also undergoing modernization.

16

Geography

Economic geography

As a country with vast agricultural potentiality, a variety of mineral resources and considerable hydro-electric potential, the Revolutionary People’s Republic of Guinea seems set for vigorous development in agriculture and industry. AGRICULTURE

This is by far the main activity of the majority of the population. They generally follow the extensive traditional ‘burned-over’system, frequently based on a variety of food crops such as cereals (rice, fonio, maize and millet), tubers (cassava, yams, turo,sweet potato), groundnuts, fruit trees, vegetables, etc. Rice is particularly important in view of its growing place in the diet. Paddies are cultivated on the poto-poto soils of the coastal marshes or in the easily flooded valleys and s w a m p s of the interior. Dry-land rice is grown on the mountains or drained land. For m a n y years, a number of plains in Guinea have had irrigation schemes, aimed particularly at the testing and general introduction of n e w strains of rice. T h e main areas concerned are the Kaback, Koba, Monchon and K a w a s plains, the Niger valley and the Kouroussa valley along the Mali border. T h e other cereals vary in importance according to the regions. Fonio is popular for the poor soils of the Fouta, and millet in Upper Guinea. Maize is grown almost everywhere throughout the country. Groundnut production is high in the Koundara, Gaoual, Dabola and Dinguiraye regions. Tubers are cultivated in the four natural regions of the country, particularly the y a m in Upper Guinea, the turo and sweet potato in Middle Guinea, and cassava in the Forest Region and Lower Guinea. Vegetables are grown around the towns, particularly Kindia, M a m o u , Dalaba, Pita, Labé and Kankan. Fruit crops such as oranges, mangos and avocados are cultivated around the settlements in Middle and Upper Guinea. This system of crop-farmingbased on the forest lougun technique has generally been dropped since the advent of the Mechanized Production Brigades (BMP) and the Non-mechanized Production Brigades (BAP) in 1975. ‘Thesebrigades were set up under each of the Local Revolutionary Authoritieb (PRL)on the basis of one BMP and one BAP for each PRL. T h e y apply modern cultivation methods within the framework of the systematic modernization and socialization of agriculture and the rural environment undertaken by the State. They are already a major force in rural areas, and their work is concerned not merely with food crops but also with industrial processing and export. Modern plantation agriculture is confined to clearly defined areas. Banana plantations are generally located in the Benti-Mamou-Dubréka triangle near the roads and the Conakry-Niger railway line. Pineapples

17

Geography

are grown in the Forécariah and Kindia regions. Palm-tree plantations are found in the Boffa and B o k é regions outside the natural palm and coconut plantations in Lower Guinea and in the Forest Region. Modern agriculture is also represented by the agronomic testing, advisory and production centres, particularly the Foulaya INRAF at Kindia and the Agronomic Research Centre at Bordo. It should also be noted that dry-season market gardening, which was formerly left to private individuals and generally engaged in by women, has been taken over and rationalized by the Party-State.Since 1976 it has been an important compulsory activity, with specific norms set for the Local Revolutionary Authorities and the executive bodies of the Revolutionary Union of Guinean W o m e n . ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

In Guinea the most important form of animal husbandry is beef-raising. Sedentary cattle-farming is carried on in the Central Fouta and its eastern prolongations and also in Upper Guinea, particularly in the Oussoulou. O n the plateaux of the B o w é regions, however, herds and herdsmen m o v e seasonally between t w o grazing areas-the western spurs of the Fouta in the wet season and the coastal area in the dry season. Beef-raising is gradually being extended into the Forest Region. T h e Guinean breed of cattle, the N'Dama, is small but strong and hardy. Beef-raising is accompanied by small-scale domestic raising of goats, sheep, poultry and pigs in the Forest Region and Lower Guinea, and donkeys are bred in Upper Guinea. Experimental farms have been set up at Ditinn (Dalaba) and Famoïla (Beyla) with the aim of cross-breedingthe N'Dama with breeds from the Soviet Union. Poultry-farming and pigfarming are carried out on similar farms at Maléya, R a t o m a (Conakry) and Kalahoui (Boké). O T H E R T R A D I T I O N A L ACTIVITIES

T h e people of Guinea engage in various other activities during the slack period of the dry season or simultaneously with farming activities in the winter. T h e main occupations are salt extraction on the coast, particularly around Coyah and in the Kakandé (Boké);the extraction of palm-oil and coconut-oilin the Forest Region and Lower Guinea; the traditional crafts of m e n and w o m e n in all the regions; river- and sea-fishing; and gold mining, mainly in the Bouré (the Siguiri region). MINERAL A N D E N E R G Y RESOURCES

T h e extent of bauxitic laterization in Guinea, particularly in western Guinea, makes bauxite the country's foremost mineral resource. In 1971, the bauxite reserves were estimated at 6,830 million tonnes, which is

18

Geography

51.7 per cent of the world’s resources. These reserves are located chietlyin the Fria, Boké, Kindia, Tougué and Dabola regions. Iron-ore deposits are found chiefly on the K a l o u m Peninsula and in the N i m b a and Simandou mountain ranges. Apart from bauxite and iron, the Guinean subsoil contains various other mineral resources. These include gold in the Siguiri region of Upper Guinea, limestone in the Mali (Lébékéré), Kindia (Souguéta) and Siguiri regions, diamonds in the Kérouané region and titanium in C a p Verga. Prospection work is still in process. Guinea’s dense hydrographic system, with several basins and its huge waterfalls, gives the country considerable hydro-electric potential. T h e most suitable sites for hydro-electric development are Souapiti and Amaria on the Konkouré, on the sub-tributaries of this river (the S a m o u and the Kokoulo), the Tinkisso falls near Dabola, the Koukoutamba falls on the Bafing, and the Kamaroto falls on the Milo in the Kérouané region. T o date the following hydro-electricdevelopments have been completed: power stations at Grandes Chutes and Donkéa on the Samou; d a m s at Banéya, Kalé and Grandes Chutes; hydro-electric plants at Kinkon, on the Kokoulo, near Pita, and at Dabola on the Tinkisso. INDUSTRY

Guinea has extractive and processing industries. Bauxite is mined in the Boké region by the Compagnie de Bauxites de Guinée, which is jointly owned by the Guinean State, through the OFAB (the B o k é Development Board), and a consortium of foreign companies. In the Kindia region the State-owned OBK (the Kindia Bauxite Board) also operates a bauxitemining project. Apart from bauxite, diamonds are mined at Kérouané. N e w mining companies have been created to develop the Nimba-Simandou iron-ore deposits in the Forest Region and bauxite deposits in the Tougué and Dabola regions. T h e numerous processing industries include primary processing industries such as-for the Fria alumina-the semi-publiccompany FRIGUIA; food industries (the fruit-juicefactories at M a m o u , K a n k a n and Foulaya, the tea-processing plant at Macenta, the sugar-refinery at Koba, the Sobragui brewery); textiles (the Sanoyah mill);the manufacture of building materials (the brickworks at K a n k a n and Kobaya, the cement-works under construction at Lébékéré-Mali,metal-construction plants, etc.); and various other processing industries (Soguifab, producing sheet-metal and tools; Sérédou, processing quinine; sawmills, etc.). COMMUNICATIONS, TRANSPORT A N D T R A D E

T h e Revolutionary People’s Republic of Guinea has an extensive transportation system that includes railways, roads, and air, river and sea links.T h e

19

Geography

road network links all the thirty-three chief towns of the administrative regions and the chief towns in each arrondissement. T h e rail network consists of the old Conakry-Kankan line and the lines linking the mining regions with the shipping ports: Fria-Conakry, Sangarédi-Kamsar and Débélé-Conakry. Plans are in hand to build a trans-Guinean railway running from the N i m b a and Simandou iron-ore deposits to Conakry, with a branch running from Bambafouga (Mamou) to the Tougué and Dabola bauxite deposits. A branch line to Ayékoyé is also planned on the Kamsar-Sangaredi line. T h e Guinean air-transport infrastructure comprises the international airports at Conakry, Labé, K a n k a n and Faranah and secondary airports operated exclusively by Air Guinea at Boké, Siguiri, Kissidougou,Macenta, N'Zérékoré and Sambailo. Sea transport operates from the main ports of Conakry and Kamsar, the minor coastal ports of Benty, Taboriah, Kanfarandé and the harbours of the Loos Islands. T h e rias and the reaches of the Niger and Milo downstream from Kouroussa and Kankan are navigable. Trade is in the hands of four sectoral agencies, which have a monopoly in domestic and foreign dealings through the intermediary of Importex. These agencies are: the Financial Co-ordinating Agency for the Trade Sector (COFICOM), which centralizes financial and accounting procedures of the Internal Trade Agencies and the Regional Trade Offices (ERC; DRC); the Financial Co-ordinating Agency for the Industry and Energy Sector (OCOFI);the Financial Co-ordinating Agency for Farming and Services (SECOFI);and the Financial Co-ordinating Agency for Foreign Trade (SECOMEX).These sectoral agencies all c o m e under Importex, a government agency that has a monopoly over import and export trade. All commercial transactionswith foreign traderspass through Importex. T h e Charter of 17 February 1975 abolished private trade in the Revolutionary People's Republic of Guinea. T h e people's power with regard to domestic trade isvested in the State organizationsresponsible for commercial operations throughout the country. A t the level of the Local Revolutionary Authority, a warehouse and shop are run by the local economic authority, which buys up the marketable surplusof subsistencefarmers and distributes imported goods. On a regional scale, the Regional Trade Agency and the Regional Trade Office serve as middlemen between the Local Revolutionary Authoritiesand the National Trade Agencies.These regionalagencies buy the entire range of products marketed by the Local Revolutionary Authorities and in turn supply t h e m with the goods needed by the members of the various communities.

20

A brief history of Guinea

Allowing for the specialfeatures of the country,the history of Guinea cannot be dissociated from the history of the rest of Africa, which the colonialist historical writing of the W e s t has for m a n y years disparaged and neglected. Today, with the development of the historical sciences, no further demonstration is required of the reality and wealth of African civilizations in general, and Guinean civilization in particular. Our country has a very long history, the signs of which date back to prehistoric times. In recent years, archaeological and historical research has established from fossils that Neanderthal m a n and Homo sapiens were in Africa. T w o major discoveries-Atlanthropus mauritanicus at Ternifinie in North Africa, found by the scientist C. Arambourg (pithecanthropus from the Chellean period), and Zinjanthropus, discovered at Oldoway in East Africa by Dr L. S. B. Leakey in 1959 (australopithecus associated with the pebble culture)-have revolutionized knowledge of African prehistory and the prehistory of each of the African countries. In Guinea fragments collected at prehistoric sites such as the Kakimbo cave in the Conakry region, the Santa cave at Kindia, and the PétéBonodji and Pété-Lalyacaves in the Pita region, have revealed traces of a number of very ancient h u m a n activities (biface axes, hand picks, cooking ashes, etc.). Further historical research in our country will undoubtedly yield surprising results. Although w e still need more specific information on Guinean prehistory, it m a y safely be stated that Guinea m a d e its h s t appearance in history around the time of the birth of the first k n o w n West African State, the Empire of Ghana (fourth(?) to eleventh century). The northern regions of our country formed part of this great geopolitical entity, which obtained a considerable portion of its revenues from the Bouré gold mines located in the present-day administrative region of Siguiri. T h e destruction of the Ghanaian Empire by the Almoravids in 1076-77 brought about population displacements that most likely affected the

21

A brief history of Guinea

peoples of northern Guinea. B e that as it may, the kingdom of Susu, which succeeded the Ghanaian Empire, had only a short-livedinfluence on a small part of our country. With the advent of the Mali Empire in the twelfth century, Guinea c a m e to be associated with the most prestigious West African empire in the Middle Ages. It is generally accepted today that the cradle of this empire was Niagassola and the surrounding area in the upper valley of the Bakoy. idji Mansa Moussa, T h e Mali Empire, which reached its zenith under H the King of the Pilgrimage, stretched from the Sahara to the Equatorial Forest, and from the Atlantic to Adrar des Iforas. Its capital, Niani, situated on the banks of the Sankarani (administrativeregion of Siguiri), is today one of the principal archaeological sites in the Revolutionary People’s Republic of Guinea. It has been systematically excavated since 1968 by a team of Guinean and Polish archaeologists. With the decline of the Mali Empire in the sixteenth century, the peoples of Guinea began to settle permanently. T h e Mandenka’s return to their place of origin led, between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, to the establishment of the provinces of Dioma, Niagassola and H a m a n a under the Keita princes. T h e same period also saw the establishment of the Baté province with the arrival of the Maninka-Mory at Kankan. T h e Dyallon, Nalou, L a n d o u m a and Susu populations of Middle Guinea were forced to m o v e to the Guinean coast in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries by the success of the Fulbé-Islamic revolution. In the Forest Region, only small-scale population movements seem to have occurred. T h e modern period has been marked in Guinea by attempts to re-establish the old groups that had disappeared. On the Fouta Djallon the Fulbés created a powerful theocracy composed of nine provinces under the control of a n Almany. T h e political and cultural influence of this vast State extended beyond the borders of Guinea and contributed to the spread of Islam on the African continent. In the nineteenth century, the A l m a n y Samory Touré, born in Minianbalandougou in 1830, put a n end to the fratricidal struggles between the chieftainsof the area and strove to unify the peoples of the region within the framework of the Ouassoulou Empire. However, he had to commit most of his forces against European invaders,w h o m he kept at bay for eighteen years. His achievement was nonetheless impressive: he created a highly organized State to which he brought economic prosperity and cultural enrichment. This brief outline of the history of Guinea gives some indication of the highly evolved social and political structures that gave the different regions of the country a considerable degree of stability. In our country, the power of the chief was always moderated by the existence of councils of elders, whose views were sought on all matters of public interest. Society w a s strictly hierarchized (emperor, princes of the blood, caste persons, slaves).

22

A brief history of Guinea

Culture had previously undergone a remarkable development, as m a y be seen from the chronicles of Arab authors. T h e Islamization of the country began back ia the Middle Ages through the Arab-Berber traders. T h e A l m a n y Samory was later to expand this movement. His work was carried on by the Guinean marabouts under the auspices of the emperors and kings. Allowing for certain variations, education w a s essentially an initiatory education aimed at imbuing adolescents with the principal virtues, such as courage, honesty and patriotism,which would ensure their integration into society. T h e European encroachment brought hardship to our country. T h e first contacts between Guinea and Europe took the form of trade and date from the end of the íXteenth century. For four hundred years, these economic relations were centred around the slave trade supplying the plantations and mines of the American continent and the Caribbean islands. A s it did throughout the rest of Africa, the slave trade ruined the country and retarded its development for centuries. In addition, this practice of bleeding the country of its vital energy was m a d e worse, from the nineteenth century on, by the increasingly blatant penetration of foreign invaders. After making use of such diverse means as the journeys of their intelligence agents ( w h o m they called explorers), and trade treaties, treaties of friendship and treaties of protection, they resorted to brute force and wars of conquest to grab the coveted territories with the aim of exploiting their inhabitants and their resources. However, the people of Guinea refused to yield to the invaders and rose up in defence of their independence and dignity. T h e list of those w h o resisted is long. It includes the A l m a n y Samory Touré, Emperor of the Ouassoulou, w h o kept the enemy at bay for eighteen years; Dinah Salifu Camara, ruler of the Nalus; N’Zébéla Togba, chief of the T o m a s in the Forest Region, Kissi K a b a Keita; Aluthène, chief of the Konyaki; and Alfa Y a y a Diallo, ruler of Labé. Nor should w e forget the countless courageous warriors w h o fought for freedom without their names ever being known. In 1898 the establishment of the colony set the seal on the colonial exploitation of Guinea, the outstanding feature of which w a s the total lack of participation by the people. T h e y were henceforth treated simply as objects, unremittingly oppressed in all spheres of life: political, administrative, economic, social and cultural. T h e crucial periods of this physical exploitation include the period of the rubber trade, the construction of the Conakry-Kankan railway, and the t w o World W a r s during which Guinea, like the other colonies, sacrificed the blood of its sons and its material wealth (rice, coffee, rubber, etc.) in the defence of the interest of the metropolis. However, the cultural aspects of exploitation are what concern us here. As the President, A h m e d Sékou Touré, has so aptly put it: ‘Culture is a better means of domination than the gun.’ T h e colonialists used every

23

A brief history of Guinea

means at hand to alienate their colonial subjects,whose culture they sought to degrade and destroy. The two main weapons used in this task were education and Christianity. In education, the pupil was merely a ‘subject of native policy’, and it was necessary ‘to prevent native education from leading to social unrest’. The aim of such education was to train minor officials w h o would serve and consolidate the colonial system. It is not hard to imagine the curricula. O n e of the best illustrations is found in the history books, which teach that the colonial powers conquered in the n a m e of civilization, stamped out tyranny and warfare between ‘baxbarous’ chieftains and ‘blood-thirsty, savage petty kings’, and brought peace to the country. This line of vindication concealed from the young the true goals of colonization and the atrocities committed by the ‘heroic’colonial officers. Education was seen as a necessary evil and was kept to a minimum; the subjects taught were distorted and falsified to the advantage of the colonial powers. This explains why Guinea had only six students at university at the time of independence in 1958. T h e missionaries assumed a full share of the responsibility for the establishment and maintenance of the colonial system. It was only natural that the colonial powers should enlist their aid, since they defended the ideology of the colonial bourgeoisie, and so ensured a moral order in conformity with that ideology. T h e improvements in the situation of the people over the years and their final attainment of full sovereignty are due to the efforts of the Parti Démocratique de Guinée (PDG).

The advent of the PDG and the struggle for independence

Between 1898 and 1945, the struggle for national liberation took various forms and involved an impressive number of heroic fighters, m a n y of w h o m died unrecognized. It only turned into general, organized resistance after the foundation of the PDG on 14 M a y 1947. At that time, the aims of the PDG‘s struggle were: to expose the material, moral and intellectual poverty in which the working people of Guinea were forced to live; to obtain democratic reform; to set up and consolidate the P D G , the only really progressive political party, which was capable of educating the masses ideologically and politically and bringing their struggle to a successful conclusion in the form of national independence. Early events soon indicated that the struggle would end in victory. The general strikes in 1950 and 1953, the popular revolts that broke out all over the country after the rigged elections in 1954, and the vigorous movement in opposition to rapacious feudalism that lent support to the administrative

24

A

brief history of Guinea

work of the Party, all brought Comrade Sékou Touré to the attention of Africa and the world. In 1956 independence ceased to be a utopian dream. Colonialism was held in check throughout the country. International opinion was very favourably disposed to progressive forces. In Guinea the PDG became the dominant party, for it represented the views of the majority of the people and was the only organization that expressed and defended their deep-seated aspirations. Following the general election on 2 January 1956, it sent t w o deputies to the French National Assembly and used this opportunity to establish direct contact with French public opinion and defend its liberation programme. O n 31 March 1957, it achieved a decisive victory by winning fifty-seven out of sixty seats in the Territorial Assembly. This enabled it to form the Council of Government instituted by the loi-cadre1of 23 June 1956 (known as the Loi Deferre) and to lay the material and ideological foundations for independence. The measures taken by the semi-autonomous government, which included the abolition of the chieftaincies, were all expressions of class struggle, since they were aimed at improving the living conditions of the working people. The attainment of independence on 2% September 1958 was thus no overnight phenomenon. It was the outcome of a long struggle to regain national sovereignty.

1. An enabling act passed by the French National Assembly.

25

Structure of the Party-State: executive bodies and procedures

Organization is a basic aspect of our endeavour,which is essentially a historicalprocess.The structures needed for the implementation of the policies adopted by the whole community are an example of such organization. The PDG is aware of its responsibility to represent all the people of Guinea, young and old, m e n and women, workers at all levels, without distinction,in every sphere of activity. It organizes,guides and encourages all strata of society. However, there are, under the aegis of the Party, special organizations for young persons, w o m e n and workers (men and w o m e n of all ages) in deference to their activities and specialresponsibilities in Guinean society. These groups are thus represented on all bodies and make their own specific contribution to overall organization. The political and administrative organization of the Revolutionary People’s Republic of Guinea has reached a qualitatively advanced stage, the creation of a Party-State. The structure of the Guinean Party-Stateis both horizontal and vertical.Looking at it from the base upwards,it takes the form outlined below.

Basic committee of the PDG

The basic committee is the Local Revolutionary Authority (PRL), whose executive is composed of seven members: the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor, the four directors of the local authorities (to which w e shall refer further on) and the chairwoman of the Special Women’s Committee. The Mayor is the chairman ofthe PRL executive. His task is to organize, co-ordinate and supervise the activities of the various local authorities. His special duties are: to defend the Revolution, maintain law and order and economic discipline; to prepare, present and manage the budget of the PRL,which is duly discussed and approved at a general meeting; to set up, organize and supervise the activities of the various production

26

Structure of the Party-State: executive bodies and procedures brigades and the production co-operatives;to allocate farmland and land for building after the matter has been discussed and decided by the PRL executive; and to sign birth, marriage and death certificates. T h e Mayor is a police officer. H e presides at the sessions of the People’s Court. T h e Deputy Mayor assists him in his work of organization, coordination and supervision. H e takes the place of the Mayor whenever the latter is absent or unable to perform his duties. His special responsibility is to manage the finances and property of the PRL. T h e PRL executive is organized into four local authorities: T h e local administrative authority, responsible for the minutes of Party and PRL executive meetings, the registers of births, deaths and marriages, administrative and judicial records, administrative correspondence, the archives of the P R L , the local census, the press and information. T h e local economic authority, responsible for agricultural production, animal husbandry and handicrafts, for marketing local products and for the fair distribution of goods. T h e local authority for public works and communications, responsible for the development of the PRL territory, the postal service and telecommunications. T h e local authority for social affairs, responsible for the management of the revolutionary education centres (CER)of the PRL,literacy training, technical and scientific experimentation, the organization and supervision of sports, artistic and cultural activities, public health, hygiene and sanitation, the people’s dispensaries and medical centres, social assistance, funeral services, and the maintenance of the cemeteries. Each of these authorities is managed by a m e m b e r of the PRL executive, w h o has the title of chief officer of the local authority. Each local authority is assisted by a technical work committee whose members are nominated by the chief officer of the local authority in question and appointed by the Mayor. T h e technical work committee m a y be subdivided into various subcommittees. T h e Party administers each village or district through the P R L , which is the concrete expression of the people’s power within the State. Decisions are m a d e at the weekly general meeting. Executive power is exercised by the PRL executive. A special youth committee (JRDA)and a special women’s committee (the local cell of the Revolutionary Union of Guinean W o m e n ) are run under the aegis of the Local Revolutionary Authority. Each garrison has a Military Committee (CUM).This is the basic political organization corresponding to the PRL;every Guinean soldier is a militant in uniform. Labour unions are organized along the following lines: (a) the various authorities, businesses and companies have a production committee (CUP), a union section or a management committee, depending on the n u m b e r

27

Structure of the Party-State: executive bodies and procedures

of workers; (b) craft workers belong to craft co-operatives or larger co-operatives covering several groups of craftsmen. The decisions of these organizations are also m a d e at a weekly general meeting. The Production Committee, the Union Section or the Management Board of the co-operative exercise political control over the various businesses, authorities, companies and agencies, and ensure that they are properly managed in the nation’s interests. They help to draw up the production plan and see that it is properly carried out. They are responsible for the vocational training and political and civic education of the workers in their operational unit.

Party section: the arrondissement

The section, comprising several PRLs, is the second level of Party organization and generally corresponds to one arrondissement. Each section includes a sectional youth committee (JRDA), a sectional women’s committee and an arrondissement workers’ committee (CAT). The youth committee and the women’s committee come under the Executive Committee of the section. The arrondissement workers’ committee comes under both the Executive Committee (CD)and the Regional Workers’ Committee (CRT). The sectionalcongressis the decision-makingbody. Between congresses, decisions are made by the sectional conference.

Party federation: the administrative region The Revolutionary People’s Republic of Guinea is divided into thirty-three administrative regions and thirty-four party federations. The federation is composed of a group of party sections functioning in the same administrative region. Only the Conakry region has two federations. The party federationis managed by a federal executive whose members are elected by the congress and chosen from the chief o5cers of the sectional executive committees and the members of the outgoing federal executive. This executive has four ex oficio members: the governor of the administrative region, the chairwoman of the regional women’s committee, and the general secretaries of the regional committee of the JRDA and the regional workers’ committee. The chief officer of the federal executive has the title of Federal Secretary.The decision-making bodies of the federation are the Federal Congress, the Regional Council of the Revolution and the Regional Legislative Assembly. The function of the Regional Revolutionary Authority (PRR)is exercised through the Federal Executive and the Regional Executive Council. 28

Structure of the Party-State: executive bodies and procedures The regional women's committees, the youth committees (JRDA)and the workers' committees are integrated into the regional administration.

Ministries of Rural Development (MDR) Several administrative regions grouped together form a Ministry of Rural Development (MDR). Within its geographic area,the power of the Ministry of Rural Development extends to all the functions of the various bodies of the Party-State. The Ministry of Rural Development is directly responsible for ensuring that the public authorities carry out their duties, and coordinates all the activities of the public services and Party organizations which come under its jurisdiction. The Ministry of Rural Development does not have a corresponding political organization. However, the ministry has a general directorate for political control, which is empowered to supervise the activities of the regional federal executive, the sectional executive committees, the executives of the local revolutionary authorities, the executives of the women's committees and the youth committees (JRDA), the Production Units (CUP) and the labour-unionsections. The Ministries of Rural Development come under the supervision of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Security and Justice. They also fall within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rural Affairs. The Ministers of Rural Development are members of the Central Committee. There are seven Ministries of Rural Development: The Conakry MDR:four regions, five federations: Conakry (Conakry I and Conakry II), Dubréka, Forécariah and Fria. The Kindia MDR:four regions, four federations: Kindia, Télimélé, M a m o u and Dalaba. The Boké MDR: four regions, four federations: Boké, Boffa, Gaoual and Koundara. The Labé MDR: six regions, six federations: Labé, Pita, Tougué, Mali, Lélouma and Koubia. The Faranah MDR: five regions, five federations: Faranah, Kissidougou, Guéckédou, Dabola and Dinguiraye. The Kankan MDR: five regions, five federations: Kankan, Kouroussa, Kérouané, Mandiana and Siguiri. The N'Zérékoré MDR: five regions, five federations: N'Zérékoré, Beyla, Lola, Macenta and Yomou.

The Central Committee: the nation T h e National Congress elects the Supreme Leader of the Revolution, the General Secretary of the PDG and the members of the Central Committee.

29

Structure of the Party-State:

executive bodies and procedures T h e National Political Bureau (BPN)is an executive body composed of seven members elected from the members of the Central Committee. T h e Central Committee is responsible for the policy-making, guidance and control of the Parti Démocratique de Guinée. T h e national decision-making bodies are the National Congress, the National Council of the Revolution (CNR)and the Legislative Assembly. Executive power is exercised by the President of the Republic, w h o is the H e a d of State, the Central Committee (CC) and the Government. T h e latter is divided into seven Domains, each of which is headed by a m e m b e r of the National Political Bureau. Three kinds of integrated organizations operate at national level: the national committees of the JRDA,the national women’s committees and the national workers’ committees.

30

The socialist cultural revolution

T h e power of any revolution to lead or change depends on the degree of ideological readiness, steadfastness, will for progress and the level of the creative abilities of the people w h o carry out the revolutionary action. Acknowledging this principle, the Parti Démocratique de Guinée, between 1947 and 1957, methodically created the objective and subjective conditions for the political liberation of the territory. Between 1957 and October 1958 it w o n political power. Between 1958 and the Eighth Party Congress in September 1967, the people, under the leadership of its Party, systematically created the objective and subjective conditions for the total, global, multiform and permanent revolution, founded necessarily on a dynamic culture, capable of liberating the creative genius of the entire people. In accordance with the decisions of the Eighth Congress and of various sessions of the National Council of the Revolution and the Central C o m mittee, the people have embarked upon the cultural phase of the socialist revolution. This cultural revolution m a y be defined as a radical questioning of all the political, economic and social structures and of social relations based on culture in the widest sense of the word, with a view to an all-round democratization of society. Its aims are to reconcile m a n with himself, with society and with nature, which should be progressively mastered by him.

Aspects of the socialist cultural revolution

It is a ‘mass’revolution. It involves the mobilization of the entire people. It uses a ‘mass’ approach diametrically opposed to the ‘élite’approach. In this way, culture becomes a matter of general concern. The revolution has outlawed any form of discriminatory cultural development and seeks to promote the development of society as a whole. It advocates the principle

31

The socialist cultural revolution

that each individual should be able to enjoy the benefits of culture and provides him with the opportunity to do so, while also laying upon him the obligation to contribute to culture. T h e ‘mass’ approach in the social and h u m a n order is what the global approach is in the economic order. Applied to education, this approach finds expression in a world view founded essentially on the primacy of the people and a strategy aimed at giving an impetus to the people as a whole by democratizing education and eradicating individualistic practices and ideas about life and their effects on the life of society. T h e ‘mass’approach is seen in t w o complementary ways. Horizontally, it involves educating all school-agechildren so as to put an end once and for all to the country’s scientific and technical backwardness. Vertically, it aims to develop the child’s scientific aptitudes to the highest possible level. This level, which previously corresponded to the Brevet lbmentaire has n o w been raised to the Baccalauréat Technique. T h e cultural revolution should be global, which is to say it should extend to all fields of knowledge: science, technicalknowledge, methodology, productive work, art and, above all, revolutionary techniques,philosophical thought and discursive reasoning. It embraces all knowledge and skills and conditions one’s w a y of life, behaviour, social relations and relations with nature, and it penetrates to the very depths of a person’s being. It is radical, which is to say it goes to the very roots of society, m a n and nature. It is radical because it not only embraces all the fields of the social, h u m a n and natural sciences and all areas of practical skill,but states that there are no limits to learning, whatever the subject, that there are no limits to practical skill and that, in terms of knowledge and skill, society as a whole can surpass every limit. T h e cultural revolution is very m u c h concerned with liberation and change. It creates a n e w nature of things, a n e w ethics, a n e w type of man. This is its most striking characteristic. Throughout the centuries, since the beginning of h u m a n enterprise on earth, man has used his knowledge and skills to exploit his fellow man.T h e history of mankind abounds with vivid illustrations of this truth. High priests, in alliance with the rulers, used religion as a w a y of dominating the people. Through its class-oriented schools, the bourgeoisie appropriated scientific and technical knowledge and used it to perpetuate its domination, although the true source of such knowledge is the people. Imperialistic capitalism has tried, by appropriating science and technology unilaterally, to subdue all the peoples of the earth and subject them to inhuman exploitation.It is impossible to exhaust the topic of science and technology, a bogey the mere mention of which so terrified mankind that it allowed a handful of people to dominate the rest. The Revolutionary People’s Republic of Guinea has embarked upon one of the most exciting phases in its history. T h e people as a whole have taken control of their o w n culture. Like Prometheus, the people have laid hold of the h e of knowledge. This is what the cultural revolution is about.

32

The socialist cultural revolution

Such a culturalrevolution does not entail the rejection of other cultures.

It seeks the total eradication of the individualistic approach in all spheres and the absolute triumph of the ‘mass’ approach on all fronts. It should bring about the complete success of the courageous efforts being m a d e to rehabilitate the African continent as it moves, with its dignity and responsibility restored and consolidated, towards international co-operation.

33

Education and instruction

On 2 October 1958, after some sixty years of foreign domination, the Revolutionary People’s Republic of Guinea inherited an educational system that had been tailored to the needs of the colonial regime. T h e total number of pupils in Guinean schools amounted to 42,000, out of a population of over 3,500,000. T h e educational system was quite openly designed to do no more than train the required number of colonial assistants. Curricular content confined young persons to minor posts and inculcated an attitude of obsequiousness towards the colonizer. T h e educational system brought about alienation and sought the complete acculturation of pupils and students. As soon as they seized national independence, the people of Guinea set methodically and vigorously about the task of making revolutionary changes in education. Their aim w a s to create the cultural, technological, economic and psychological conditions that could serve as a basis, &st for the consolidation of independence and thereafter for the satisfaction of the needs of society in accordance with its various stages of development. Tactical preparations for this battle were m a d e in October 1958, which was the beginning of the school year. This was done to enable the Party and State officials to introduce the basic ideas of the revolution into education in the following year. Against this background, Order No.42 MEN of 5 August 1959, providing for educational reform in the Republic of Guinea, set out detailed legislation concerning the teaching profession, the curricula, the timetables and certification. T h e specific objectives of this reform were to renew African cultural values, to implement the right to education that is accorded to every Guinean citizen by the Constitution, and to enable the people of Guinea to have access to a more advanced scientific culture and to acquire technical k n o w - h o w corresponding to the real needs of the country. Education w a s m a d e free at all levels (from the first to the fourth grades), and compulsory up to the twelfth grade. 34

Education and instruction

T h e subject-matterof the n e w education must necessarily reflect (a) the modern scientific and technical requirements of our country and our people in the field of the natural sciences, (b) the requirements of intellectual decolonization, and (c) the need to provide a close link between theory and practice, knowledge and practical skill, school and life. These guidelines for educational advance provide the best w a y of ensuring the efficient development of the komplete man’, in terms of his political awareness, his understanding of life, his creative abilities, and his place in, society and history.

The n e w kind of school Since education is to be seen in terms of meeting the needs of the people, it must be m a d e available to all school-age children. It should reflect the concrete realities of nature, which it should also transcend so as to extend and enrich the prospects for the future. This approach calls for a mass education that caters for the entire school-age population. Such an education should be tailored to socio-economic realities and should be a n education of high quality that meets the requirements of science and technology in a state of constant change. T h e n e w kind of school plays a primordial role in the task of renewing and building u p the nation. It is integrated into national life and fully attuned to the requirements of the revolution. It should give the young generations n e w skills that enable t h e m to assume responsibility for the future of their village, regional, national and African society. T h e n e w kind of school is a revolutionary education centre (CER)that is responsible for the complete and harmonious development of all the pupil’s abilities, so as to train ‘complete men’. This n e w kind of school provides ideological, political and moral training, an academic education, technical training (productive work and basic technical knowledge), physical education and aesthetic education. T h e ‘revolutionary education centre’ (CER)is the n a m e given to all schools and colleges from primary to university level. T h e essential feature of the CER is the consistent adoption of a ‘mass’ approach to education and the strict adherence to the idea that school should be linked to life. This idea shapes not just the structure of the school but the whole w a y it is run. ‘It is primarily through a knowledge of his environment that man, w h o is a product of his society, fulfils himself and integrates happily with society and then masters nature.’ bInstruction and education, which are considered to be a single reality, are aimed at training people in political, social and human terms. Knowledge is acquired in stages which are reflected in the educational cycles.’

35

Education and instruction

Education in the CERSis spread over seventeen years and divided into four ‘cycles’: T h e first cycle consists of 5ix years of primary school. T h e child starts his primary education at the age of 6. H e is taught the basic categories of knowledge: man, society, nature, the needs of m a n , the family, the village. T h e second cycle consists of three years of school from the seventh to the ninth grades. T h e child moves on from general knowledge and starts to specialize. A t the end of this cycle, the pupil sits for the Brevet l!h!émentaire du Second Cycle Technique. T h e third cycle also lasts three years, from the tenth to the twelfth grades. A t this stage the pupil pursues his specialized studies. H e is concerned with definition and the establishment of relationships between wholes. At the end of this cycle, the pupil sits for the Baccalauréat Unique. T h e fourth cycle is the period of higher education that should develop the student’s practical abilities and not merely his academic knowledge. In 1973, a thirteenth grade was introduced between the third and fourth cycle. T h e purpose of this temporary arrangement is to round off the practical knowledge acquired over the previous twelve years and turn the pupils into able producers, capable of building up viable production co-operatives, but it is also aimed at maintaining the tradition of the ‘university in the country’ until the end of the current five-year plan. Education, which is free in all cycles, is compulsory only u p to the thirteenth grade. A t the end of the thirteenth grade, the pupils sit for an entrance examhation for the fourth cycle. Those w h o do not have the opportunity to pursue their studies can choose to work in co-operatives in the socialist townships set up by most of the Party federations. In these townships young people have the chance to learn modern farming methods thanks to an ‘advance grant’ given by the Party-State. In the future, each village, like each economic unit, will have its o w n revolutionary education centre (CER)for all cycles. A t present there is one first-cycle centre to each Local Revolutionary Authority (PRL),and one of the criteria for the viability of a Local Revolutionary Authority is the existence of a revolutionary education centre. There is one second-cycle or third-cycle centre to each arrondissement.

T h e n e w approach to education T h e n e w approach to education stems from the n e w objectives the Party sets for the school. T h e democratic character of this n e w approach necessitates a redefinitionof educationalprocesses, with a view to achieving perfect harmony between society and the person being educated. T h e Party holds that man is indefinitely perfectible. T h e Party school can no longer expel a pupil for any reason. It has to devote itself to the

36

Education and instruction

education of all the children of the people. A father cannot dismiss one of his children from the family circle, and by the same token the school which represents society, cannot expel any of its pupils. The scandalous ‘dropout’ phenomenon has thus disappeared for good from Guinean schools. However, the resulting immediate explosion in enrolment figures caused a problem in that the old colonial classrooms were far too small to contain a people so eager to learn. They have been replaced by huge lecture-halls that can accommodate any size of class. The teacher has consequently to give up the academic approach to teaching and has instead to consult and engage in dialogue with the young persons. Each class is divided into carefully selected teams of twenty pupils. The team chooses its leader, whose task is to co-ordinate the various activities. The different teams work under the supervision of the teacher. Each month the teacher sets forar group assignments and one individual assignment. Supervision is conducted in such a w a y that team members benefit from their c o m m o n efforts. The more gifted pupils help their colleagues, and this tends to even out the levels in the group. Group work does away with selfishness and encourages active solidarity.It develops a group attitude and so contributes to the personal development of the pupil.

Self-management Every CER is a production unit, a centre of learning, a socialist cell, the germinative nucleus of the Local Revolutionary Authority. Each revolutionary education centre has an administrative council, which is responsible for managing all the property of the centre (material and financial) and for its acquisition and disposal. Each class chooses a political officer, who has two assistants,one in charge of discipline and the other of production. The administrative council is elected by all the political officers. It is composed of a chairman,who is the director of the revolutionary education centre (CER)and who automatically has a seat on the council; a vicechairman;an administratorresponsiblefor keepingthe accounts ofthe C E R , in accordance with the directives of the Ministry of Education and Culture; a production officer; an oficer for education and scientific research; an officer responsible for the militia and security;and an officer for production work and hygiene who, in liaison with the directorate of the establishment and the teaching staff, is responsible for the organization and efficient execution of the production programme, the syllabus and science programmes, infrastructure works, hygiene and preventive medicine. The administrative council draws up the plan of activities for the school year and prepares the relevant budget. This budget is in two parts: State loans and subsidies (Budget A); the income from the production of the establishment (Budget B).

37

Education and instruction

T h e administrative council delegates some of its powers to its chairman, vice-chairman and administrator, enabling t h e m to obligate the budgetary allocations jointly and co-operatively. T o be valid, all expenditure must be authorized by the administrative council and the obligation must be signed by the chairman, the vicechairman and the administrator of the council.

Production and qualifications

Within the framework of the socialist cultural revolution, the object of socialism is to endow m a n with productive abilities and at the same time to enable him to understand all the laws of historical development, the conditions, the means by which the individual is integrated in the collective action of society and accepts the will of his people by rigorously adhering to the social, economic and political morality determined by the people. Pupils go to school to become capable and useful workers; outside the context of this relationship between education and practice, and between technology and an objective, an action or the pursuit of happiness, everything is a waste of time and resources. Knowledge that is not seen in terms of social or historical utility is worthless, and hence useless to society and to man. In this sense, the school has to mould and change society; it has to mould the characters of young people as an essential part of its task of qualifying them for life. This is why production plays an essential role in the Guinean school. It has t w o distinct aspects-the educational and the economic. T H E E D U C A T I O N A L ASPECT

T h e primary concern is to rehabilitate work, the sole source of happiness. School, being linked to life, must cater for the different trades and occupations. Each revolutionary education centre (CER)is assigned a particular form of activity. Agriculture is the most c o m m o n , in view of the development strategy of the Party and the Guinean economy. In an agricultural C E R , agricultural science and farming techniques are taught in addition to the c o m m o n core subjects. As the aim of the CER is to train a modern producer, the pupil must have the opportunity to put his agricultural knowledge into practice. T h e CER is set up near a cultivable area where the necessary linkage can be m a d e between theory and practice, so that the student can acquire a perfect knowledge of modern farming techniques.

38

Education and instruction

T H E E C O N O M I C ASPECT

School production is no symbolic gesture; it makes an appreciable contribution to the country’s economy. It enables the CER gradually to become financially independent of the national or local budget, and to achieve its assigned objective, which is to become a self-financing and self-managing production unit. In 1975, the CERS of all cycles had accumulated a bank balance of 40 million sylis. It should be observed that pupils begin this type of work in the second cycle;in the first cycle, production is confined to simple tasks in the gardens. As has already been mentioned, 90 per cent of the C E R s in the second and third cycles are concerned with agriculture. This situation is easily explained by the fact that most of the Guinean population is engaged in farming and that the development strategy is designed with a view to basing the overall economic development of the country on agriculture. However, a number of other trades and occupations are covered by the CERs. These include electrical engineering, civil engineering and maritime activities.

The allocation of time T h e close link between the subject and the object of the educational process necessitates a well-planned distribution of school time between academic instruction, vocational training and productive work. T h e following table shows in percentages h o w the school timetable is divided u p to cover these various aspects of education: Aspect

1st cycle

2nd cycle

3rd cycle

General education Vocational training Productive work

70

50 30 20

40 30

?O 10

30

As the CER is a socio-economicbody, the school holidays are adapted to the farming calendar. Organization Both pupils and teachers are involved in production. Each revolutionary education centre (CER)has production brigades, which work to a production plan drawn up and approved by the pupils at a general meeting. T h e plan sets specific norms and fits the timetable of work to the local farming calendar.

39

Education and instruction

All the work is carried out under the effective supervisionof the teachers and the members of the administrative council of the CER. The norms provide a fair w a y of assessing the efforts of the brigades and, consequently, of the pupils. Production work accounts for 25 per cent of the marks in the calculation of averages for all examinations and school assessment procedures. The ‘University in the Country’

The link between school and life w a s perfectly illustrated by the work of the fourth-cycle students in the mechanized production brigades (BMP) during the 1975 agricultural campaign. T h e y spontaneously and enthusiastically put aside their books and compasses in order to work alongside the peasants in the villages. More than 5,000 young people in 434 mecbanized production brigades throughout the country contributed to the success of the agricultural revolution set in motion by the Party-State. ANNEX. T E A M W O R K

This annex is included with a view to explaining a number of important aspects of the educational system, the structure of which is explained at the end of this chapter. In a people’s democracy, for example, the educational system fosters the spirit of collectivism.Teamwork helps the young person to be unselfish in attitude and behaviour and to develop a preference for fellowship and mutual help. This approach strengthens the desire to serve the overriding interests of the community. Teamwork helps the pupil to adjust, to change and to improve his abilities;he gradually becomes a ‘social man’, an aware and experienced socialist worker, a patriot w h o contributes to the well-being of his people. While teamwork involves collective responsibility,it in no w a y rules out the need for individual responsibility. In fact, before setting about any assignment, the team holds a meeting chaired by its leader at which it fixes the objective to be attained, draws up a plan of action and determines the various methods to be adopted. Tasks are then assigned to the different team members. On hearing what he has to do, each pupil prepares his personal plan of action and attemps to adapt it to the overall plan so that the desired objective can be fully achieved; failure on the part of any team-member would jeopardize the success of the team as a whole. On completion of the work, the group meets again to draw conclusions from the results, study the various difficulties encountered and the reasons for failure or success, apportion responsibility and set the path to be followed in order to ensure a continuously improved performance in the future.

40

Education and instruction

The right to a free education Just as a responsible parent could not throw one of his children out of the house, especially if the child were still a minor, the socialist State could not allow its children to roam the streets. In a system characterized by exploitation and alienation, every effort is m a d e to keep the masses in a state of blind ignorance. T h e socialist State, on the contrary, does not merely introduce compulsory primary and secondary education but does everything in its power to provide for the moral, physical, intellectual, social, civic, practical, political and ideological education of the young person. This government is aware of the fact that society has responsibilities and duties towards its children and knows that if the education of the young is neglected, the country is doomed to ruin. Hence it is successfully endeavouring to m a k e each person useful both to himself and to his country. Instead of rejecting children, it guides each child along the path to happiness, regardless of his physical handicap or intellectual backwardness. T h e socialist State creates all the conditions needed to bring science and technology, cultural power, knowledge and k n o w - h o w within the reach of all,without distinction. In this context it provides school materials free of charge so that even the most underprivileged can send their children to school,where they will be able to further the well-being of the community and of themselves. Importance of agriculture Guinea is essentially an agricultural country; 80 per cent of the population is engaged in farming and animal husbandry. It has a revolutionary government, and the people have opted for a ‘non-~apitalist~ path of development. Political independence would be no more than sleight-of-hand,were it not consolidated and guaranteed by economic independence, which closes the door on blackmail and any attempts to exert undue influence or bring about forms of alignment. Our people have therefore embarked on a ‘Green Revolution’ aimed at producing enough to be self-sufficient. Since each form of government has one educational system which alone will enable it to perpetuate, renew and improve upon the accomplishments of previous generations, the Party-Statehas m a d e 80 per cent of the CERSagricultural.

The administrative structure of education Guinea’s vast natural resources will be developed only if the people are organized, trained and m a d e aware of our needs. T h e aim of the revolution is to raise the level of awareness of the people so that Guinean m e n and w o m e n will have an understanding of life, and master the scientific and technical knowledge that will enable t h e m to ‘make history’. This was the

Education and instruction

primary concern of the Party-State in establishing, as part of the government, the ministries responsible for education and culture, having the task of educating ‘complete men’ and imbuing young people with a sense of honour and duty. T h e following ministries are responsible for education and culture: T h e Ministry of Education and Culture, which is concerned with centralization, dissemination, promotion and supervision. It includes a Directorate-General of School Production and an Examination and School Supervision Department. T h e Ministry for Higher Education and Long-Distance Teaching, which is responsible for training higher and middle-level personnel in t w o polytechnics, twenty-fivefaculties and several ‘B type’ vocational-training colleges. Besides the ministerial department as such, this ministry includes a Directorate-Generalfor Higher Education, the Long-Distance Teaching Service and an A c a d e m y of Languages. T h e Ministry for Primary and Secondary Education and Literacy Training, which is responsible for the educatios.of all children,without distinction, up to the Baccalauréat Unique. It is also concerned with the training of skilled workers in the ‘A type’ vocational-training colleges and the secondary polytechnics (IPS).Besides the ministerial department as such, this ministry includes a Directorate-General for Primary Education and a Directorate-Generalfor Secondary Education. With a view to facilitating the circulation of official directives and particularly to ensuring permanent supervision at all levels, school-inspection services have been set up under each Ministry of Rural Development and the Regional Education Departments in the administrative regions or Party federations. In view of the proliferation of revolutionary education centres and the upsurge in enrolment, the school-inspectionservice and the regional departments play an important role in supervision, promotion and organization. T h e y are responsible for educational development, the proper running of the revolutionary education centres,teacher performance and school supervision.

42

Training and further training

Training and further training are essential aims of the Guinean Revolution. There cannot be any development without the continuous training of development workers, w h o in Guinea are the m e n and w o m e n of the nation. However, 80 per cent of the Guinean population lives ia rural areas and is engaged in rural occupations. In its case, training and further training basically entail the provision of information.In the Revolutionary People’s Republic of Guinea, information is provided through the mass media. However, until recently the press had a very small readership.T h e scourge of illiteracy, which had been fostered for m a n y years b y the colonialist exploiters, proved a serious handicap to bringing about a positive change in the mentality of the peasant. B u t today, thanks to the organization introduced by the Party-State, information is also disseminated through the general assemblies. Every Friday, the PRL militants meet at their headquarters or at times even in the open air to discuss the problems of the village, the arrondissement, the region and the nation. T h e political authorities use these meetings to inform people of the decisions of the central government and explain the reasons for the various policies. Literacy training programmes axe a n essential feature of the people’s struggle against cultural alienation and their efforts to acquke scientific and technical knowledge, which are the sole guarantees of real well-being. For the Party, there w a s no question of providing literacy training in French, since no one language is more suited than any other to the expression of highly abstract and scientific ideas; rather, every language expresses the ideas and feelings of a civilization. This is why the firet step w a s to introduce a c o m m o n alphabet for all the national languages. This alphabet was designed to convey all the nuances of our spoken tongues. Secondly, everyone w h o claims to be of the people has the obligation to learn this alphabet. Everyone should be able to read correctly the language he speaks. This is absolutely necessary. W e are convinced that the return to African cultural origins, the permanent guarantee of the

43

Training and further training

cultural values of our people and the progressive development of the vast economic, social and human potential of our continent, call for the rapid and complete eradication of illiteracy. There is no greater bane than ignorance, and knowledge is the true basis of power. This is why the Party has organized the National Literacy Campaign. T h e National Literacy Training Service

On 15 September 1967,by Decree No. 367/PRG,the Party set up the National Literacy Training Service (SNA) to organize the campaign against illiteracy and to spread the practice of the writing of our national languages. The aim was to enable the people at large to study scientific and technical subjects,rehabilitate the national culture and develop ‘mass’ culture. Eight languages were officially adopted and are taught in the first cycle at the revolutionary education centres. These languages are Podar, Maninka, Susu, Kissi, W a m e y , Oneyan, Kpéllé and Loma. W h e n the socialist cultural revolution was launched a year later, the line to be followed became clearer still.This was the ‘mass’approach which outlawed inordinate and arbitrary growth on the part of any one sector to the detriment of others. In its first campaign, the National Literacy Training Service relied on the classic literacy-trainingmethod and brought out practical manuals aimed at teaching the alphabet directly. This campaign roused the enthusiasm of the working people, and literacy training centres were opened by all local committees. Unesco undertook to support this programme by providing technical aid and the benefit of its experience. ORGANIZATION

The National Literacy Training Service has been organized in the light of the geopolitical structure of the country. F r o m the local revolutionary authority to the federation, each officer responsiblefor the socialist cultural revolution is in charge of mobilizing and motivating the militants in his area through a literacy training committee of which he is the chairman. This committee has the task of seeing that the literacy training centres are run properly. The youth, women’s and workers’ organizations are represented on these committees to deal with matters connected with their sectors. A t the level of the School-InspectionService, an educational counsellor is responsible in each district for literacy training. H e reports to the National Literacy Training Service on the w a y the centres are run, conducts instructor evaluation, and receives and sends out all the m a terials and directives sent by the national directorate for the regional literacy training directors administrativelyattached to the Regional Education Department.

44

Training and further training

T h e political officers concerned with literacy training are directly answerable to the cultural commission of the central committee, while the administrative authorities come under the National Literacy Training Service. However, both groups work together to promote the literacy training centres. All teachers of the local revolutionary authorities are, as a matter of course, the main unpaid instructors at the centres, which explains why the National Literacy Training Service is attached to the Ministry for Primary and Secondary Education. G E N E R A L LINE O F A P P R O A C H

T h e curricula and textbooks are designed with a view to meeting the sociopolitical and vocational needs of adults. W e call this the ‘further training literacy’ method, which is not be to confused with the method k n o w n as ‘functional literacy’. DESCRIPTION

T h e National Literacy Training Service is m a d e u p of seven sections: (a) planning, guidance and methodology; (b) documentation and radio activities; (c) supervision and statistics; (d) audio-visual work; (e) office machinery; (f)accounts and equipment; and (g) co-ordination.A s a result of the decision of the Eighth Congress of the J R D A , students take part in the literacy campaign.

The National Long-DistanceTeaching Service For all workers outside the teaching profession, one of the ways in which further training is provided is through the National Long-Distance Teaching Service, which is responsible for promoting further education (academic and practical) in the various departments, businesses and workers’ collectives. A s part of attempts to strengthen the power of the people through the local revolutionary authorities, long-distanceteaching is decentralized. Regional relay services have been set up to convey knowledge between the central service and the local units such as the PRL (local revolutionary authority), CER (revolutionary education centre), and special producer brigades. STRUCTURE A N D OPERATIONAL SET-UP

F r o m the point of view of structure and operational Set-up, the National Long-Distance Teaching Service is organized along the same lines as the Ministry of Education and Culture (MDEC).T h e central service sees to the following: the planning, guidance and co-ordination of the activities of the regional representatives;preparation and circulation of material for training and further training (booklets, radio broadcasts); the organization and

45

Training and further training

promotion of further training programmes in the production units (further training classes) and in the revolutionary education centres (radio forums); the organization and management of the regional study and documentation centres (CRED)which stock the booklets prepared for the workers; the reproduction and regional distribution of various important CRED documents; the collection and finalization of documents prepared b y the CUP and CER staff and their dispatch to the national centre which handles their distribution. T h e local units (further-trainingclasses of the production committees, production brigades of the local revolutionary authorities, radio forums) have the following essential tasks: to use and appraise the written documents, to arrange radio-forumsessions, and to ensure the practical follow-up of the broadcasts. T h e National Long-Distance Teaching service is also responsible for broadcasting all the lessons for pupils and students in rural areas.

The National Institute of Education (E") T h e National Institute of Education is the outcome of the qualitative development of the education department set up shortly after national independence as part of the educational reform. F r o m 1961,the Education Department was responsible for the following: curriculum design and planning, the production of teaching materials for use in primary schools (first cycle), co-ordinating the publication of textbooks to assist teachers, the technical organization of short-term in-service training and educational seminars for teachers and educational workers. As the work of the Education Department developed within the context of the socialist cultural revolution, it became clear that it could no longer effectively be the responsibility of that department alone. As a result, a new, more dynamic institution w a s established in July 1972 with the following responsibilities: to give teachers a good grounding in educational theory so as to enable them to carry out the educationaltasks corresponding to each phase of the socialist cultural revolution, and to elaborate the educational and training methods and resources required for mass education. T h e National Institute of Education plans, prepares and develops textbooks, curricula and other teaching materials. It organizes shortterm in-service training, seminars and education conferences and helps teachers to prepare for their professional examinations. T h e institute consists of t w o departments: the Department of Primary Education, which includes a section responsible for the teaching of the national languages and for textbooks, a foreign-language section (English and French), and an information and educational documentation section;

46

Training and further training

and the Department of Secondary and Higher Education, which includes a section responsible for the teaching of scientific and technical subjects and the social sciences, and a section responsible for training, further training, refresher courses and textbook production. This structure is not rigid, and the National Institute of Education also works in conjunction with the Regional Education Departments.

47

National languages and education

T h e Party’s language policy is based on the principle that a language is essentially related to a view of the world and a form of social life which ultimately impose a certain mental structure on those w h o speak it. For this reason, cultural rehabilitation in the Revolutionary People’s Republic of Guinea involves continuing action to restore and promote African languages, the expression of the intelligence and genius of our peoples, in their irreplaceable function as languages of culture, science and technical advance, with a view to enriching our heritage, ensuring the harmonious development of our societies and making a n original contribution to universal civilization. It would be madness to seek the complete liberation of our people from imperialist cultural domination while continuing to use the languages of those w h o tried to destroy our culture and enslave us. In this context, French, English and Portuguese are a direct threat to the African languages which are one of the most authentic aspects of African culture. T h e national languages are the means of communication and of cultural expression that are best suited to African life. Like every living language, they are in a state of continuous development and serve to express all the ideas connected with the activity of their speakers. There is no such thing as a superior or an inferior language. ‘Every living language is a language of science, technical knowledge and philosophy, and can serve all the needs of the people w h o speak it. T h e more a language is used, the more it develops and provides us with a means of communicating our thoughts adequately and extending our field of action.’ T h e Party has endeavoured to reflect this view of President A h m e d Sékou Touré in its activities, as it is aware that the use of the mother tongue is the most effective w a y of circulating informationin our societies. Relying entirely on the ‘mass’approach, it has embarked upon a vast programme of language rehabilitation,involving the adoption of the national languages as written languages in schools and a m o n g the people at large. T h e gener-

48

National languages and education

alization of the ability to write is one of the fundamental objectives of the socialist cultural revolution;indeed,it is considered to be a revolutionary obligation. The school, which is the melting-pot in which tomorrow’s men and w o m e n are being educated,provides the surest opportunity for our national tongues to take hold and evolve as written languages suitable for the development and dissemination of science and culture. With this in mind,the Party decided in 1968 that the national languages should be used as languages of instruction. The introduction of the national languages into the education system has been accomplished in two ways. The national language was first introduced as a subject on the curriculum, either as a basic course when the language in question was not the child’s first language, or in cases where the language was the child’smother tongue,as a course aiming at improving his knowledge of the language and gradually clarifying its structure. This process was adopted in all the educational cycles from primary school to university. Since the historic decision was made in 1968, the use of the national languages as languages of instruction has progressed steadily in the revolutionary education centres, and since 1975-76 the national languages have been used in the six years of the primary cycle. The huge successes achieved in this field have essentiallymeant an improvementin educational standards, since the pupils n o w find it much easier to learn. They bear out the appropriateness of this decision, which has served as a source of inspiration to many African countries. The use of the national languages as languages of instruction has m a n y advantages: 1. The child does not experience the psychological and intenectual shock he would feel if he went to a school where he had to learn a foreign language which in most cases neither of his parents would speak. In this way, the school is much more closely integrated with society as it is in reality and with the family, and is no longer cut off from society in the way it formerly was. 2. A s a result of being taught in his mother tongue, the child is quickly able to grasp ideas to which it would not be easy to introduce him if he were taught in a foreign language. The use of the national languages as languages of instruction has raised the general educational standard. 3. The use of the national languages as languages of instruction has broadened the intake range of the school and given it a genuinely democratic and popular character. 4. The pupil n o w has the feeling that his mother tongue is an integral factor in the overall development of the nation and that it is just as capable as other languages of being used to express scientific ideas. 5. Adult literacy training is made easier, since the child is able to help his illiterate parents.

49

National languages and education

However, these successes were not readily achieved. Numerous problems arose, particularly in connection with: the training and further training of teachers in the context of the n e w education;the preparation of textbooks in the national languages, which required a scientific study of those languages and the creation of a scientific terminology suited to the different levels of education; the psychological resistance on the part of certain intellectuals w h o had spoken French for m a n y years or w h o were fundamentally opposed to the change. These difficulties were gradually overcome, either through decisions of the Higher Council for Education or through the establishment of specialized institutions such as the National Instituteof Education or the Academy of Languages. Language instruction and linguistic research in Guinea T h e language policy of the Revolutionary People’s Republic of Guinea is

in line with the ‘mass’ approach and reflects the multilingual nature of Guinean society. This is why an alphabet has been created for the eight national languages, which are taught in the schools and used by radio, television and the press. Linguistic research in Guinea is the outcome of a progessive developcreation of a chair of ment dominated by t w o great landmarks-the linguistics and the foundation of an Academy of Languages. T H E C H A I R O F LINGUISTICS

T h e Conakry Polytechnic opened in 1963. F r o m the outset it had a chair of modern literature, which w a s later to become a chair of linguistics and national languages. T h e faculty is at present divided into t w o sections: Mathematical Linguistics and Philosophical Linguistics. In 1967, around the time linguistics was taking hold in the K a n k a n Polytechnic, the first linguists graduated from the university. In view of the fact that typological and genetic syntheses should be based on a thorough application of synchrony and that a preliminary description of the African languages is accepted as one of the essential scientific tasks, the Guinean university directed its efforts from the outset to the exploration of the national linguistic heritage. Practically all research on our national languages available today has been done by young linguists w h o have graduated from our university. This research includes descriptive work (phonology,morphology, lexicology, grammar) and applied research related to education (grammars, translations).

50

National languages and education

T H E A C A D E M Y OF LANGUAGES

At the session held in Conakry in March 1972,the National Council of the Revolution decided to create an A c a d e m y of Languages. T h e fundamental aims of this institution are: to ensure that the system of alphabetic transcription adopted by the Revolutionary People’s Republic of Guinea is used correctly and uniformly by the population at large; to establish a scientific terminology in the eight national languages for use in the four educational cycles; to produce grammars for use at the revolutionary education centres (CER). T h e Academy is composed of an Applied Research Department and eight commissions, one for each of the following national languages: Podar, Maninka, Susu, Kpéllé, L o m a , Kissi, W a m e y and Oneyan. Each commission has vertical links with the Ministry of Rural Development, the Administrative Region, the arrondissement and the Local Revolutionary Authority. F r o m the methodological point of view, the A c a d e m y of Languages considers that as language is a social act, an objective study of its structure necessarily requires the participation of the people, w h o are the sole depositories of our linguistic heritage. T h e people at large are thus involved in research on the national languages and their enrichment and development in all areas. T h e task of the A c a d e m y of Languages is to guide, centralize and systematize the efforts and contributions of the militants so as to avoid any wastage of energy or time and to enable everybody to benefit from the results. Since it opened, the A c a d e m y of Languages has successively concentrated on three related areas: Improvements in the standardization of the alphabet and the transcription into the national languages by codification of the segmentation of linguistic units. T o this end, it has published, in French, principles of spelling and segmentation for each of the eight national languages. T h e compilation of grammars, which will m a k e it possible to establish the necessary grammatical tradition. T h e problem of lexicology, closely related to the problem of lexicography, which the national commissions have tried to solve by translating a vast range of terms and ‘Guineaizing’ and adapting others for educational purposes. These problems will soon be solved through planned action and through the determination and constant efforts of the researchers.

51

Guinean scientific research

‘Researchis a conscious act, a form of action aimed at establishing man’s relationship with physical nature and with h u m a n society. O n e of the basic characteristics of research is that it is capable of extending,deepening and strengthening the control exercised by man and the people over history through the growth of their ability to understand and act.’ This broad vision of the role of science in the nation, put forward by Comrade President A h m e d Sékou Touré, is the backdrop to all the decisions taken by the Parti Démocratique de Guinée since independence, which have resulted in Guinea becoming the first independent state in Africa to establish a Department of Scientific Research. T h e Supreme Leader of the Revolution continues: Africa should never lose sight of the fact that scientific and technical knowledge was used to colonize it and that its struggle to reassert its personality and to develop its capabilities and resources necessitatesmastery of scienceand technical knowledge. This is the only way its industrialization,general economic progress, social advancement and the self-fulfilmentof its people will ever be achieved. For this reason, since 28 September 1958, the date on which the people of Guinea chose the free future,which can only be attained through economic independence,the Party, acting within the general context of the rehabilitation of the national culture, has accorded particular importance to scientific research,which must no longer be regarded as a luxury but as a necessary and vital means of ensuring national development. Scarcely forty days after the proclamation of political independence, Decree No. 75/PRG/58 of 10November 1958 abolished the Guinean Section of the IFAN and established the Guinean National Institute of Research and Documentation (INRDG), responsible for planning and drawing up a national science policy. T h e INRDG initially inherited the colonial approach of the I F A N , which had been conceived as a springboard for the work of French or 52

Guinean scientific research

European researchers. Today, however, it has undergone a radical change and is a genuine scientific research centre, furthering the socio-economic and cultural development of the Guinean people. Accordingly, the aims of Guinean scientific research are to increase the knowledge and skill of the people with a view to advancing effectively the economic, social and cultural development of the working masses. In this context, it is easy to understand the Guinean idea of research, underpinned by the noble ideals of the socialist cultural revolution. In countries with an élitist social structure, research is conducted by a minority of specialists working for a c o m p a n y or a n institution. W e are convinced that research cannot develop in isolation from the people and their vital needs, since science and technical knowledge are created by the people. In the Revolutionary People’s Republic of Guinea, science is a direct productive force and a decisive weapon in the struggle for development. It is the supreme instrument invented by man to create the best possible conditionsfor his material and moral happiness. T h e essential characteristic of the national science policy is thus the participation of the working people in all the scientific and technical activities of the nation. O u r people are faced with the task of building their socialist future. Scientific research fits in with the requirements of the socialist revolution in all areas-social, political, economic and cultural. In other words, it keeps abreast of the revolution. It is dynamic and observes a methodology geared to the pace of progress, which consists in deriving the m a x i m u m benefit from existing resources and then creating those that are lacking, so that the level of attainment of the people will be constantly raised. To accomplish this, scientific research adapts the scientific methods and experiments of other countries to the Guinean outlook and the specific conditionsof the country. This is the surestpath to follow if the entire people are to attain the highest level of scientific knowledge, which is the certain guarantee of their rapid socio-economic and cultural development.

T h e organization of scientific research Scientific research in Guinea is organized rationally and efficiently. T h e structure is simple, practical and functional and follows the lines of the Party-State of Guinea. T h e different scientific institutions are perfectly suited to the nature of the work done and m a k e the maximum use of the political and administrative machinery of the Party-State of Guinea from the summit d o w n to the base. Research is organized as follows:

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Guinean scientific research

T H E POLICY-MAKING BODY

T h e Central Committee of the Party-State of Guinea, through its Cultural Commission and the Ministry of Education and Culture, is responsible for planning, guidance and decision-making connected with the national science policy. T h e commission approves the national research and documentation programmes (and the relevant budgets) and also makes decisions concerning their implementation. A t least once a year, the Cultural Commission of the Central Committee calls a National Science Conference to evaluate scientific activities and decide on the priorities and annual research programmes, in accordance with the national development plans. EXECUTIVE B O D Y

This is the level at which the Guinean ‘mass research’approach is translated into operational terms. President A h m e d Sékou Touré teaches us that ‘scientific research is practicable and should be conducted at the level of the local revolutionary authority, the arrondissement, the region, and in each revolutionary education centre, each industrial,commercial or agricultural enterprise, each dispensary, maternity hospital, hospital, and obviously, in each laboratory’. In this sense all these scientific and technical establishments are engaged in scientific research. Their main task is to implement the decisions of the Cultural Commission of the Central Committee so as to produce all the material or non-material goods needed for the advancement of our people. In Guinea, the rea1 research establishments are the local revolutionary authorities, the revolutionary education centres, the research stations and the technical, industrial, economic and commercial research departments. However, the local revolutionary authority, as the foundation of the structure of our PartyState, is both the starting-pointand the culmination of scientificresearch. This organizational structure is justified by the fact that all aspects of the Party-State of Guinea are represented in the structure of the local revolutionary authority. CO-ORDINATING A N D SUPERVISORY BODY

T h e National Institute of Research and Documentation (INRDG) is responsible for co-ordinating and supervising scientific and technical research throughout the nation. It is also responsible for formulating the national science policy and putting suggestions and n e w ideas to the Ministry of Education and Culture aimed at the constant development of all fields of scientific research.

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Structure and activities of the

INRDG

T h e INRDG comes under the Ministry of Education and Culture. Its organizational structure is as follows:

The Natural Science Division. Its function is (a) to promote and co-ordinate all the scientific research activities within its province, in order to increase scientific and technical knowledge with a view to its practical application; and (b)to supervisethe implementation of item B of the ‘researchbudgets’ of the industrial and agricultural establishments, businesses, educational centres or institutions, in accordance with the provisions of Decree No. 583/PRG of 16 December 1969. In addition to t w o departments of fundamental and applied research, the Natural Science Division also includes the following research centres: (a) a centre for mathematics and physics, which covers the following disciplines: pure and applied mathematics, general physics, oceanography, solar energy and nuclear physics; (b) a centre for the life sciences (agronomy, animal husbandry, biology, medicine and veterinary science, pharmacy); (c) a centre for the earth sciences (cartography, hydrology, mineralogy); and (d) a centre for the technical sciences (chemistry,mechanics, electrical engineering, civil engineering). The Social Science Division. Its function is to co-ordinate and guide all the scientific research activities falling within its province, based essentially on the knowledge of our social environment, its development and its prospects. It consists of the following sections: Section for popular arts and traditions. This section investigates, lists and collects elements of our cultural heritage, particularly in its oral, historical, artistic and ethnographic aspects (mythical and historical narratives, stories and legends, proverbs, songs, etc.) with a view to preserving and improving t h e m and making t h e m known. Section for national and regional museums. This seation gathers together in the national m u s e u m all the material that illustrates and establishes the history ofour society and civilization.It also promotes the creation of m u s e u m s in each administrativeregion by collecting local items likely to encourage the people to engage in creative pursuits. Despite the fact that the Revolutionary People’s Republic of Guinea is an ethnic patchwork, it forms a singlenationalentity from which alltribal and religiousparticularism is excluded. T h e Party-State is and remains the melting pot from which national unity is cast. It mobilizes the energies of the people to mould t h e m into a homogeneous whole in which the originality and authenticity of each ethnic group is nevertheless safeguarded. A n u m b e r of these ethnic groups have their own peculiar artistic forms, and their output is extremely varied: e.g. figurines,masks, instruments and tools, most commonly carved in w o o d or stone, terracotta, etc. T h e National 55

Guinean scientific research

Museum is essential if relics of the past are to be preserved for the benefit of present and future generations. The cultural and artistic values of Africa were contemptuously dismissed by the colonialists as %avage’. The National Museum has the scientific task of rehabilitating the values of our civilization and culture, which it seeks to make k n o w n to other peoples so as to create between them and us the necessary mutual understanding and international solidarity. This is why, in addition to organizing temporary and permanent exhibitions, the National Museum actively takes part in various national and international cultural events. Prehistory and history section. It is responsible for listing and classifying the ancient: sites so that the various prehistoric and historic sites can be mapped. It also draws up research plans, and enlists the co-operation of other disciplines and sections, with the aim of increasing knowledge about our history. Archaeology section.Itis responsible for listing and studying all the historic monuments that should be known, preserved and protected as aspects of our culge. It also has the task of organizing the technical side of the various archaeological excavations. Section for general anthropology, culture and civilization. It is concerned with improving the knowledge of our society through the study of specific ethnic groups, cultures,languages and literatures. Section for demography and h u m a n geography. Its task is to analyse demographic, economic and social phenomena with a view to inferring from them general data that m a y help the Party-Stateto exercise better control over the development of our socialist society. Section for the political, economic and legal sciences. It has the task of making known the achievements of the Parti Démocratique de Guinée by ensuring widespread dissemination of its ideas on political, economic and legal matters. In this connection, it works closely with the permanent bodies and the education system of the Party-State. Section for linguistics and national languages. It is engaged in a systematic study of the national languages,which it seeks to develop along scientific lines,in co-operationwith the Academy of Languages.

The Department of National Documentation.Its task is to organize,supervise co-ordinateand increase the stocks of all documentation centres at national level (libraries, archives and specialized centres). It consists of a section responsible for the national archives,and a section responsible for libraries and national documentation. The Department of Publishing und PubZications. It is responsible for all the publications (journals, bulletins and specialized publications) that appear under the imprint of the I N R D G . It consists of a publishing section and a publications section. 56

The Head

of State on a visit to the Faculté des Sciences Administratives de Belle-Vue (Conakry).

Students of the Université Guinéenne and the 1975 Agricultural Campaign.

A " " . " I

I

The 'university in the country': the rice harvest.

scene from a play.

A literacy class.

A collection of objets d'art.

A

Guinean m a s k .

Ballet dancers.

Guinean scientific research

A t national level the INRDG serves as an umbrella organization for a number of cultural, industrial, agricultural and scientific bodies, which are closely associated with it. These are: The University of Guinea: the Conakry Polytechnic (formerly the Gamal Abdel Nasser Polytechnic) and the Julius Nyerere Polytechnic in Kankan. Agricultural and biological research institutes: the Nenekhaly Condetto Camara Institute of Applied Biological Research (IRBA)at Kindia,the Foulaya National Institute of Agronomic and Horticultural Research (INRAF)at Kindia,the Famoïla farm (Beyla), the Sérédou independent station (Macenta), the Maléah poultry farm (Forécariah) and the Ditinn farm (Dalaba). Scientific laboratories: the Pharmaguinée Laboratory, the Central Laboratory for Mining and Geology,the Laboratory of the Water Authority and the Boulbinet Marine Fishing Laboratory.

Finance

In addition to the funds it contributesto bilateral and multilateral research programmes, the State subsidizes expenditure on equipment and the salaries of research personnel for annual programmes. However, this arrangement only applies until the research establishments are able to finance their own programmes out of the profits from their productive activities. Scientific research programmes are financed through the following budgets: the research budget, which consists of funds voted and placed at the disposal of the INRDG to aid any scientific research organization within its province; and budget ‘B’,the so-called research budget, allocated to scientific, technical,industrial and commercial establishments. The INRDG supervisesthe w a y this budget is used. Scientific and technical personnel This category includes popular physicians, story-tellers,chroniclers,craftsm e n and skilled workers, and all who have had the benefit of a scientific and technical education. The Party-Stateof Guinea does everything in its power to provide for the training of research personnel. Lastly, it should be noted that, with a view to involving the whole nation in scientific research, a degree of ‘recognized research worker’ has been introduced to enable every militant to present and defend his research findings at the university. This is a sure sign that Guinea has firmlyrejected the idea of research work done by élites and opted for ‘massresearch’.

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Scientific co-operation

Our political choice in regard to international co-operation rests on the basic principle of the Guinean revolution stated by the Supreme Leader of the Guinean Revolution, the strategist A h m e d Sékou Touré: ‘Any aid that does not aid us to do without aid must be rejected; any aid that fosters the development in Guinea of an exploiting petty bourgeoisie will be refused. Aid should in all cases be fully controlled by us and used by us for our total liberation.’ Technical assistance provided by developed countries to developing countries often involves the supply of outmoded forms of technology. The adaptation of these transferred technologies to local conditions runs up against a whole range of technical, social, cultural and economic obstacles. It is therefore essential for technologically disadvantaged countries to develop their own technology by fostering the creative abilities of local craftsmen. n Guinea hold the view that scientific and technical This is why we i co-operation should reflect the needs and economic and socio-cultural situation of the recipient country, so that the people will not feel themselves alienated in relation to the imported technology. We have resolutely opted for forms of international scientific co-operation that help us to provide for the training of Guinean scientific and technical personnel, and for the gradual improvement of the facilities in our various scientific institutions. Today, when ‘brains’ and ideas are bought and sold, it is paramount to train people w h o are 100 per cent committed and determined to play an active and effective role in the various aspects involved in building u p the nation. This is why most of our research personnel are trained in Guinea, in our universities, laboratories and specialized research institutes, external further training schemes being arranged with a number of friendly countries. In the Revolutionary People’s Republic of Guinea, scientific research is conducted on a large scale,and its findings are more practical than academic. The fundamental aim of the Party-State is that science and modern technology should be effectively controlled at national level by the people and for the people. In other words, the Republic cannot be a laboratory for scientific, technical and technological experimentation in which the people are no more than an instrument. The socialist cultural revolution requires science, technical knowledge and technology to be placed within the reach of the people. The people’s knowledge has to be given a national form, ordered and systematized, and then handed back to them so that they can pursue the noble and exciting task of building u p socialism.

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Jeunesse de la Révolution Démocratique Africaine (JRDA) Before independence, Guinea had a large number of small youth organizations, often lacking any clearly d e h e d personality, founded on irrational, anti-democratic and anti-popular bases. Ethnic, regionalistic, religious or class considerations were the criteria of these groups, which claimed all the energy and leisure of young people without it ever being possible for them to contemplate any form of global action. These organizations existed only ia a number of towns, and the broad rural masses were neglected and left without any form of organization at all. T h e colonial regime, which had every incentive to thwart the efforts of militant young people, successfully directed the actions of the young in a host of different directions. With such a vast array of dissimilar organizations, it was impossible to find a line of action capable of mobilizing young people in a c o m m o n cause and thus furthering their all-round development. In such a situation,no organization or coherent and constructive action was possible without a genuine revolution. This is why, after independence, the Parti Démocratique de Guinée immediately set about eliminating all internal inconsistencies and organizing young people along rational lines. ORIENTATION A N D AIMS

Since its creation on 26 March 1959,the JRDA has established itself as the leading political youth organization of the P D G , committed to a new path, characterized by dignity, courage and sacrifice. Once the young people had been rid once and for all of the irrational elements that divided and weakened them, they were rehabilitated and became the spearhead of the revolution. T h e JRDA is open to everybody between the ages of 7 and 40 without distinction and on an absolutely equal

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Youth and culture

footing. It is a political organization attached to the Parti Démocratique de Guinée, and follows the Party’s guiding principles and programme of action. It has the task of educating all young people in preparation for their future responsibilities. Because of the profoundly h u m a n character and essentially democratic nature of the Guinean political system, the JRDA gives practical expression to the deep-rooted, lawful aspirations of the people. Speaking of the J R D A , the Secretary-General of the PDG declared that the revolutionary duty of young people relates to (a) the ideological and political value of the education they receive, (b) the justice of the principles and methods obtaining in society and in the Party, (c) the development of civic and moral well-being, (d) the eradication of any form of superiority complex both within Guinean society and in relations with other peoples, (e) the development of material, intellectual, cultural and moral creativity. R O L E OF T H E J R D A

In ideological, political and social terms the role of the JRDA is (a) to radicalize the revolution by stepping u p the class struggle and, to this end, to identify, expose and stamp out the counter-revolution,to combat the profit motive, petty-bourgeois behaviour, bureaucratism, illicit trading and exploitation; and (b) to combat juvenile delinquency, vagrancy, mystification, alcoholism, drug-taking, theft and idleness-in short, to educate and train complete persons. In economic terms the JRDA should play an active and effective part in all productive activities undertaken with a view to increasing the economic power of the people. The main areas of activity of the JRDA include the preparation and cultivation of collective fields, leadership of the mechanized or non-mechanized production brigades, construction of small dams, bridges and roads, the organization of activities at public establishments (schools, dispensaries, etc.). In cultural terms, the main functions of the JRDA are: (a) the development of the arts, music and sports within the context of ‘mass’culture; (b) the study of scientific and technical subjects through post-school and out-of-schoolfurther-training courses; (c) providing the people with systematic literacy training in the rehabilitated national languages; and (d) the organization of educational leisure activities. ORGANIZATION A N D OPERATIONAL SET-UP

The JRDA is organized along the lines of the PDG as follows: at national level, a national committee elected by a congress and assisted by a council; at arrondissement level, a sectional JRDA committee; and at PRL level, a special JRDA executive.

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The elected administrative councils are responsible for the management of the revolutionary education centres (CER).They operate under the authority of the parallel bodies of the J R D A . The Ministry of Youth, Arts and Sports consists of four departments: the Department of Sport, the Department of the Arts, the Department for the Militia and the Department Responsible for the Pioneers.Each Department is headed by a member of the National Committee of the J R D A .

The people’s militia The defence of the people by the whole people under the aegis of the Party-Staterequires that the people should be organized,have the necessary means with which to defend themselves, and undergo military training so that their ‘self-defencemechanism’ can be activated if necessary. The people’s revolutionary militia is engaged in the task of improving the people’s ability to defend themselves and fight against imperialistic and backward-lookingforces. R O L E A N D AIMS

The people’s militia serves as a ‘barometer’in the construction of the n e w socialist society. It incorporates the following features: it is the extension of the national pioneer movement; it is the nursery of future non-commissioned and commissioned officers in the army, gendarmerie, Garde Républicaine, etc.; it is the organic link between the people’s army and the people; it provides a means of giving all able-bodiedyoung persons a sound training that will help them to take over responsibilities successfully in the future (military, political and ideological training, etc.); and it is the organization of the Party-State most closely associated with civic service as it is the recruiting ground for the people’s army and the other security services. ORGANIZATION

The militia is organized along the lines of the Party-State. At each level of the Party-State, there is a corresponding unit of the militia under the relevant political authorities. TRAINING A N D L E A D E R S H I P

Competent, specialized young technical experts lead and train the militia members in accordance with a programme drawn up by the Party-State. The higher ranks of the militia are trained at a national centre. Militia members receive suitable training on a continuous basis. Stations and

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sections have been established to enable militia members to learn n e w techniques and defence tactics and, above all, to familiarize themselves with the methods and means of production, especially in the industrial sector and in the civil-engineering (roads, bridges and dams) and agricultural-engineeringsectors. RECRUITMENT

T h e militia is open to all able-bodied militants between the ages of 18 and 45 w h o are resolutely committed to the revolution. It is m a d e up of the élite of the JRDA, recruited according to strict selection criteria from the young people of all strata of society (peasants, workers, university students, public officials, etc.) who have given proof of their devotion to the Party- State. T h e members of the people’s militia should be outstanding for their discipline, dignified behaviour, physical and moral courage, sound judgement, love of good workmanship, honesty, patriotism, spirit of sacrifice,etc. Militia members are ‘theeyes, ears and arms of the revolution’. T A S K S O F T H E MILITIA

T h e tasks of the militia are multiple and important: In the political and ideological sphere the ever-watchful militia sounds the alarm about, exposes and is always ready to stamp out, all forms of bourgeois and counter-revolutionary behaviour (subversion, sabotage). It is responsible for keeping order at Party demonstrations. In the social sphere the militia safeguards public morals. It ensures the scrupulous observance of revolutionary morality. In relation to the defence of the revolution and territorial integrity, as a specialized body that receives intensive and continuous military training, the militia plays a decisive role in protecting the achievements of the revolution and operates in conjunction with other security services. In the economic sphere the militia plays a n active part in the implementation of the national economic development plans, particularly in agriculture,where it is organized into production brigades equipped with a wide range of modern equipment. It is effectively engaged in spreading information on farming techniques in rural areas. In the cultural sphere it is resolutely committed to the struggle against illiteracy and ignorance and the rehabilitation of the values of a n authentic African civilization and culture. T h e JRDA is both the defender and beneficiary of the achievements of the revolution. It works for the rehabilitation of Africa and its authentic cultural values, while impressing upon Africa a personality that is growing increasingly stronger and increasingly c o m m a n d s recognition. This

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approach is clearly evidenced in its active participation in the various sporting, artistic and cultural events that are held in Africa. T h e JRDA is very actively engaged in consolidatingits ties of friendship and fellowship with all progressive youth Organizations throughout the world in a spirit of solidarity with peoples struggling for their total liberation, and for progress, democracy and peace.

The National Pioneer Movement T h e future of the African democratic revolution is closely linked to the training and qualifications of the young generation. T h e education of young people is thus one of the major concerns of the Party-State of Guinea. Y o u n g people are an inexhaustible source of creative energy in view of their o w n special character traits, their physical and intellectual pliancy, their desire to k n o w and create, their enthusiasm for beautiful things and great causes and their unselfishness. T h e National Pioneer Movement is the main crucible in which the conscious and socially useful citizen of tomorrow is forged. Its task is to work for the realization and complete development of the vital potential which these young people possess. AIMS

A m o n g the young people of Guinea, the National Pioneer Movement is a body specializing in the education of children and adolescents between the ages of 7 and 18. It trains conscious, useful citizens w h o are ready to serve their country and their party, and are courageously committed to the struggle for freedom, understanding between m e n and peoples, progress and peace. It seeks to m a k e the militant a perfect instrument of the African revolution. T h e pioneer has to be active, studious, vigilant and respectful of the property of the nation;he should be honest and fair-minded, and useful in his family, at school and at work. T h e National Pioneer Movement contributes to the revolution by constantly raising the level of awareness of its members. FUNCTIONS

Coming after the family and the school, the National Pioneer Movement ranks as the third most important element in the child's background. In view of this it has numerous important functions: To establish a close link between the family life and school activities of the child; to organize all out-of-school educational and leisure activities. To supplement school education by providing dynamic, revolutionary out-of-schoolpolitical, moral and civic education.

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T o make up for the educational inadequacies in the family, to develop the child’s character and guide his social behaviour. To involve the new generation practically in the task of national renewal; to establish close links between the activities of the pioneers and the actual conditions and requirements of national life; to prepare young people to exercise responsibility and practise democracy. To give every assistance to the schools with a view to training leaders w h o are fully aware of their responsibilities, achieving this through emulation, discipline and the inculcation of a sense of tidiness, cleanliness, hygiene, etc. In the artistic and cultural sphere,to work for the rehabilitation of African and national culture by promoting knowledge of the country, its history, geography,folklore and its economic, social and artistic values. In this connection, the pioneers organize specialized study groups, children’s theatre companies,visits to historical sites,research projects, surveys and exhibitions. They play an active part in the fight against illiteracy,ignorance and disease. With the object of fostering peace and friendship among peoples, the young pioneers organize activities aimed at providing material and moral assistance to children w h o are the victims of war or natural disasters. Internationally, the national pioneer movement enjoys considerable prestige and takes part with young people from all over the world in activities designed to promote the ideals of freedom,justice and peace. ORGANIZATION

The National Pioneer Movement is organized along the lines of the JRDA. The conduct of its affairs is supervised by the National Committee of the JRDA, which guides its activities. A national technical commission assists the National Committee. The regional districts of the pioneers correspond to the Party federations, sectional districts to the Party sections, and pioneer brigades assisted by brigade councils correspond to the local revolutionary authority (PRL). Units of the movement are organized in the schools (CER). Each class forms a unit, which is called a group, a troop or a company according to the age of the children (7-10,11-14, 15-18).

sport GENERAL BACKGROUND

Sport used to be regarded as a natural h u m a n activity, but today it is highly organized nationally and internationally. Sport necessarily involves the use of scientific and technical advances, and is governed by laws and

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subject to a code of ethics. The Parti Démocratique de Guinée is fully aware of the role of sport in society. Since independence, it has rationally organized all areas of youth activity. It concentrates particularly on sport, to which it has assigned three aims, namely: to assist the development of the physical, moral and intellectual abilities of individuals; to serve as a powerful means of mobilization and self-expression for young people w h o are also the vanguard of the revolutionary Party; and to provide an opportunity for closer links, understanding,peace, friendship and solidarity between peoples. Accordingly, sports as a whole have been given a new direction and dynamic form of organization in line with the new needs of the country. This new direction naturally has had to reflect the educational philosophy of the PDG. In keeping with the idea of a ‘mass’ party, a popular, democratic approach has been adopted in sport, whose overall development strategy was designed to meet the deep-seated aspirations of young people. T h e training and education policy is essentially based on the ‘mass’ approach, since it alone can galvanize the energy of all the country’s young people and mobilize them. It provides a basis for educating unalienated, balanced citizens w h o have the chance to exercise all their abilities and freedoms. In a word, it provides a basis for educating the ‘complete man’, the kind of conscious, useful producer which society needs. This ‘massapproach’ philosophy necessarily breaks with the anarchy, self-interest, individualism and liberalism that characterized the colonial period. ‘Elite’ sport and, even more ao, professional sport, which are by-products of capitalism and bourgeois life and are anti-democratic and commercially orientated, have been rejected in favour of ‘sport for the masses’. This dynamic approach, involving the development of sport for the people at large, lies behind the whole range of sporting activities carried on by young people in the towns and rural areas. In an atmosphere of healthy competition, all the young people of Guinea have the opportunity to achieve the best possible performance, and it is not difficult to select talented new athletes and players for the various local and national teams. DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

Structural organization T h e Department of Sports is organized along the lines of the J R D A , with a primarily horizontal structure on the basis of which all young people (urban, rural, military and para-military, school and university) engage in a whole range of sports throughout the country. The sports clubs are directly under the authority of the special executive of the JRDA,which guides, organizes, runs and promotes all sporting activities at the level of the local revolutionary authority (PRL). T h e vertical structure provides continuous opportunities for advancement, so that all young people have the chance to excel in the sports of

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Y o u t h and culture

their choice. A young person w h o first competes during his schooling with the local revolutionary authority (PRL)(urball district or village) thus has the opportunity to achieve the degree of Froficiency that will enable him to be selected, in turn, for the sectional team, the federation team and the national team. Functional organization T h e structure and effective organizational resources of the Department of Sport ensure that it operates soundly. It is composed of the Division of T e a m Sports (football, basketball, volleyball, and handball) and the Division of Individual Sports (boxing, judo, cycling, swimming, wrestling, athletics, bowls, table-tennis). These divisions, operating at national level, c o m e under the national Department of Sporl: and are responsible for promoting and popularizing their respective sports. Sports leagues function at the level of the Ministries of Rural Development (MD R). At the level of each Party federation, a regional sports district organizes a n d supervises the sub-districts created at sectional level. A t the level of the local revolutionary authority (PRL),sports c o m mittees promote sports in the village or urban district. Separate sports organizations have been established for pupils and students and for soldiers and para-military personnel in view of their special circumstances. During the academic year, competitions are held in all sports between revolutionary education centres of the same level. Similar competitions are organized between the various military and paramilitary garrisons. Although these activities are organized separately for the t w o groups, students and military personnel take part together in the sports activities of the district or village clubs of their places of residence. INFRASTRUCTURE A N D EQUIPMENT

T h e development of sports depends on the adaptation and modernization of the infrastructure and sports equipment. Since independence, the Party-State has taken considerable trouble to create a viable infrastructure that will allow for the rapid expansion of sport. Sports grounds for football and basketball have been opened in the areas of the local revolutionary authorities, and local people have themselves created sports associations throughout the country. These activities are carried out entirely on a voluntary basis with considerable involvement on the part of young people. T h e federal stadiums built in all the chief towns of the administrative regions and financed from the regional budgets are complete sports complexes open to young people daily. T h e Omnisport

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stadium in Conakry, which has the most up-to-date sports facilities from the swimming pool to the palais des sports, is a n achievement of which every young Guinean is proud. Under the policy of overall development, it is planned to enlarge existing sports grounds and to build in the chieftowns of the administrative regions extensive sports complexes that will meet the constantly increasing needs of our young people. T h e Party-State allocates considerable s u m s for the purchase of sports equipment of all kinds for use by young people. TRAINING OF SPORTS INSTRUCTORS

Since the overall development strategy in the field of sport requires the continuous provision of general and advanced training, the PDG has not lost sight of the problem of training sports instructors and the need to give t h e m refresher training and opportunities to adapt to frequently changing techniques.A t all levels-local, regional, national and international-sports instructors each year attend refresher seminars and further-training courses. T h e development of training systems and changes in rules and penalties in world and African sport are closely followed by the Department of Sport, which is aflïliated to all the African and international Amateur organizations, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC),the Higher Council for Sports in Africa (CSSA) and all the African confederations or international associations, AIBA (boxing), FIFA (football), FIBA (basketball), etc. PROMOTION OF SPORT

T h e promotion, advancement and expansion of sports activities on the basis of a ‘maBs’ approach are a w a y of continuously harnessing the creative energies of our young people. This is why annual competitions are organized by the sub-districts between teams from the sports clubs of the local revolutionary authorities (PRL)within their respective areas. T h e sports authorities take an interest in these competitions and select young persons w h o distinguish themselves by their performance or their outstanding qualities. A t the end of the competitions, teams are chosen in all fields of sport to prepare for the various federal contests. After the PRL competitions, the regional districts organize their o w n competitions between the sectionalteams, and trophies are awarded to the winners. T h e s a m e kind of selection procedure is followed for the federal teams. A t national level, t w o major competitions in each sport are organized each season. T h e PDG cup is presented by the General Secretary of the Party, the H e a d of State, to the winners in the various t e a m sports. During the two-daynational championship (team and individualsports),

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the sports management committees select the athletes and players for the national teams. T h e best teams have the honour of representingthe country at African and international meetings in all the various forms of sport. With the aim of constantly improving their working procedures, the sports authorities at all levels regularly meet to discuss the previous sports season, draw up the calendar for the coming season, and prepare the various training programmes for coaches, referees, umpires, judges, etc. Special ideological and technical training is also arranged for the national teams. These active, practical procedures involving all the people, enable Guinean sportsmen and w o m e n to achieve outstanding successesday by day.

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African history has been preserved by the people t h o u g h oral tradition, archaeology, music, dance, the visual arts and folklore. T h e richness of our folklore and visual arts varies according to the degree to which the forms of preservation and expression successfully resisted the colonial invasion. Sculpture, music, dance and folklore are forms of visual, auditory, rhythmic, aesthetic and scientific expression in Africa that are as vigorous, subtle and diverse as any to be found elsewhere in the world. Artistic traditions are most alive in t w o types of region. T h e first type is represented by regions that witnessed the birth or development of a royal or imperial personage w h o ruled over a vast territory (Ghana, Mali, Ouassoulou). In this pattern of social organization, the function of librarian or academician of popular culture w a s assigned, by virtue of the division of labour, to a social category that actually performed such a role: the griots1 and the craftsmen. Thanks to this practice,w e are today able to trace the course of African cultural history back for centuries.This structure has favoured the development of a rational system for the preservation of popular works by integrating art in all areas of life (oratory at the assemblies, and the special music and choreography of social groups like craftsmen, fishermen,hunters (‘Sofa’), warriors, young people,w o m e n , sovereigns) and in all events such as harvests, contests, initiations, feasts, war, peace, etc. Art thus reflected the principles of life, social morals, the civil code, the penal code, philosophy, thought, knowledge, ethics and aesthetics, economic principles, the c o m m o n law, etc. Those whose task it w a s to pass on the culture of the people were not subject to recruitment in time of war. T h e y then served as negotiators, diplomats, counsellors and also as ralliers of the people and educators of the warriors. T h e y were ‘media men’ whose message and style, forms of expression and methods of action 1. A class of professional musician-entertainers.

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reached the largest possible numbers of the people and even touched the hearts of the holy men. T h e active method of instruction which they followed called for an excellent m e m o r y and a profound knowledge of history and social relations. In Guinea this type of region extends over part of the old Mali empire, the old theocracy of Fouta Djallon, the Ouassoulou Principality. Historic towns in this region contained royal academies, institutes, imperial schools and schools for the people (those of Niagassolla, Niani, Dinguiraye, Timbo, Kérouané, Beyla, Fougoumba, G o m b a , etc.). T h e second type of region corresponds to the territories formerly occupied by ethnic groups which, on a smaller geographic and social scale, organized all the aspects of life by integrating t h e m in the framework of a culture that revolved around folklore. It should be noted that ‘folklore’ here refers to a cultural instrument of a ‘mass’ civilization at a given time in the development of society. If culture m a y be regarded as the whole range of manifestations through which man and society fully achieve selfrealization, folklore is the framework and the code that characterize this culture in patriarchal communities. All peoples have their o w n ways and customs and, consequently, their o w n folklore, the latter being the cultural soil in which the authentic personality of any society has been nurtured and rooted. T h e forms in which folklore is expressed vary from one ethnic group to another, from one region to another, from one country to another. They reveal the diversity and richness of a unity rooted in the same cultural substratum that is c o m m o n to a period, a m o d e of production, an era of civilization. Ethnic groups which, for historic, social, economic and geographic reasons, developed in seclusion, c a m e to grips with life in society by creating their own form of writing and their o w n currency. T h e y evolved their o w n philosophy, established their o w n value system, hierarchized duties and responsibilities, and imposed a form of discipline, the absolute observance of which w a s a condition for membership in the community, the permanency of life and the perpetuation of mankind. These communities always had a cultural centre to regulate magicoreligious concepts, the embodiment of which was a place (the sacred forest, Gbassikolö), an animistic m a s k representing a beast, a spirit or some form of activity, particularly an agrarian activity. In these places, the visual arts were developed, preserved and practised longer than anywhere else, and symbols, signs and codes were expressed in dance, music and particularly in sculpture, popular craftsmanship and the practice of scarring. It is in places such as these that popular medicine still flourishes and produces an inexhaustible variety of remedies. T h e Revolutionary People’s Republic of Guinea is fortunate to be situated in these t w o great centres of development where a genuine artistic tradition can be reconstructed, despite the fact that the colonialists destroyed m a n y cultural centres, plundered documents, materials and precious writings and stole countless artistic masterpieces that bear witness

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The militant theatre to the greatness of African civilization. President A h m e d Sékou Touré teaches us that ‘every militant activity is primarily an activity aimed at mobilization, constantly promoting the development of progressive thought and the creativity of the masses of the people’. H e adds:

Militant theatre will only successfully mobilize the people if it is based on popular aspirations and an approach that is likely to satisfy such aspirations. It is a means of expression devoted to education and information, with the aim of ensuring that the people have every opportunity for advancement. Revolutionary theatre should have thee essential qualities: 1. It should be a means of providing objective information. It must demonstrate objectivity in whatever reflects the real concerns and deep-seated aspirations of the people, and must make the subject conform to the noble objectives set for the people to attain. 2. It should be a means of educating the people. Accordingly, it should teach the people the underlying causes of their victories and defeats, which is oniy possible through a scientific analysis of the phenomena conditioning social evolution. 3. Lastly,if it is to rally the people,it must tap a dynamic and revolutionaryway ofthinking,and seekto clarify and broaden its prospects for thefuture. It should inspire confidence in its system of government, in its ability to bring about successful change and provide suitable living conditions. It must raise the level of revolutionary awareness and each day strengthen the people’s will for progress, their patriotism and their sense of historic responsibility. The theatre should also adopt a unitary approach and reflect the whole course of time (past, present and future). The artist must live the life of the people, with all their ups and downs, and with all their joys and sorrows, but he must also share their hopes and expectations that life itself will successfully be changed. Guinean authors and artists should have a thorough knowledge of revolutionary morality; in a word, they must be militants w h o are openly committed to the revolutionary struggle of the people. Guinean theatre is not an intellectual’s theatre; it is something other and much better than that. It is an intelligent theatre, a theatre that is integrated with society and with Guinean life. W e do not want authors and artists with a bookish cast of mind; essentially they should have the kind of social intelligence that is gained in the struggles of daily life, which in simple terms is called ‘ordinary c o m m o n sense’. In our theatre, the people are the ones w h o point the way. They sanction the work of the creative artist. W e do not need special schools to train our artists and actors. They are not ‘turned out’, because they are the products of life itself. Life inspires, instructs and guides them; their work is bound up with life. Life is their school.

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A brief survey of the way the arta are organized T h e Supreme Leader of the Revolution, President A h m e d Sékou Touré, Restorer of the Arts, has stated that ‘the value of a culture can only be appreciated in terms of its influence on the development of social behaviour. Culture is the w a y in which a society manages and uses its intellectual resources’. T h e Parti Démocratique de Guinée has t h r o w off the yoke of foreign domination and created a democratic people’s State. Its ideology and achievements have given the people a degree of political advancement that will ensure infinite scope for action on the part of the masses. Liberation has m a d e it possible to organize activities on a rational and scientific basis. In 1955, L a Jeunesse de la Révolution Démocratique Africaine (JRDA) w a s founded, and this m o v e gave Guinean artistic life a n unprecedented impetus. There cannot be total liberation without liberation from cultural bondage. T h e PDG has shown the need for the rehabilitationof the people, their culture and their civilization. It has therefore committed our country to the difficult yet noble task of re-evaluatingthe attainments of the past, devoid of any mystification or esotericism, on the basis of national unity, in accordance with its philosophy of continuous change. T h e people raised the revolution, which in turn engendered a n e w nation and an authentically African, progressive, people’s culture. T h e Supreme Leader of the Revolution, A h m e d Sékou Touré, has stated that ‘the imperialists used cultural, scientific, economic, literary and moral values to j u s t e and maintain their regime of exploitation and oppression. T h e oppressed peoples had recourse to the opposite kind of values, which they felt would enable t h e m better to combat imperialism and extricate themselves from the colonialregime’. Resistance and offensive are organized first and foremost in the field of culture. Colonized man first has to pull himself together and critically assess the effects of the influences to which he has been subjected by the invader and which are expressed in his behaviour, his w a y of thinking and acting, his ideas about the world and society, and his appreciation of the values of his people. Initially,he should regain mastery of his personality by rejecting the cultural values that depersonalizedhim, by decolonizing his mentality, morals and attitudes,by dismantling the philosophy of domination,particularly the myth of the ‘primitive, pre-logical mentality’ and the m y t h of the intellectual and moral superiority of the colonizer. H e should free himself from his inferioritycomplex and seek to be the incarnation of m a n to the extent that he represents the absolute values of aspiration after the universal. In reality, this initial phase of liberation and struggle to eradicate colonial complexes merges with the followingphase aimed at the recovery oflost

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art^

values and the attributes that were denied to him, the attributes of a m a n endowed with reason w h o thinks and acts with dignity and self-confidence. Culture can only develop along authentic lines once the causes of its suppression have been eliminated. The phenomenon whereby the masses become aware of their situation and are mobilized and organized accelerates the process of political and social liberation and the process of forming a nation. It does this by creating the circumstances in which people regard themselves h s t and foremost as Guinean citizens,for w h o m considerations of tribe or race are of little importance.This free man, a member of a free people, who has regained his mental and physical equilibrium, can n o w assume full responsibility for his future. ORGANIZATION

In the Revolutionary People’s Republic of Guinea, the arts are organized along the lines ofthe J R D A ,which itselfparallels the structure of the PDG. This organization takes the following form: In each of the 2,422 local revolutionary authorities (village or district communities) is a JRDA section with an arts company. At the level of the 236 arrondissementrevolutionary authorities (sections of the PDG), a JRDA sectional committee runs a sectional arts company. At the level ofthe thirty-fourregionalrevolutionary authorities(federations of the PDG), a JRDAregional committee runs a federal arts company. A t the level of the central revolutionary authority, a national JRDA committee is responsible for the Syli Orchestra (eight groups), three national ballet companies and an instrumental and choral ensemble. The members of these companies are peasants, workers and intellectuals, all of whom are militants of the Parti Démocratique de Guinée. All Guineans, whatever their age, are involved in the creation and production of theatrical and musical performances on themes drawn from the life,history and problema of the people and their successive victories on all fronts. All complexes of a racial, ethnic or intellectual nature or complexes based on wealth, religion, region or sex are being systematically eradicated through the educational work of the Party, which guides and organizes all the activities ofthe people. A t all levels,the arts companies draw their members from a variety of occupational backgrounds, and these members freely place their knowledge at the disposalof the people.All militants,young and old, m e n and women, m a k e their contribution in a spirit of healthy emulation,concerned solely with the production of works of artistic merit. Each year, competitions are held among the 2,422companies from the village or district communities (the level of the local revolutionary authorities (PRL))and the sections (the arrondissement revolutionary authorities (PRA)). This is the first stage in a large-scale mobilization of the people in the service of the arts. Each of these arts companies presents a play, a choral work, a ballet, and some instrumental folk music.

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Juries officially classify the items and the companies. T h e best productions go into the second stage of the competition, which is also held annually. This stage is organized at federation level. A t the end of these competitions, the winning companies take part in a two-week arts festival. A modern orchestral work is added to the prog r a m m e of the earlier competitions. T h e best productions are selected for the national festival, which is held every t w o years. T h e country’s major competitions are held against the background of this festival. These competitions involve the thirty-four federal companies, the eight national orchestras, the three national ballets and the national instrumental ensemble, under the supervision of the Central Committee. T h e whole country takes an interest in this festival, in which African and foreign companies and individual artists also participate, making their contribution to the socialist cultural revolution. A national jury attends all the performances and classifies the entries. At the end of the competition, the Central Committee awards diplomas of honour to the best artists and productions. T h e standard that has n o w been reached is the outcome of a process of successive change that has taken place in the struggle waged by the people. This process m a y be summarized as follows: During an initial phase aimed at bringing about a change of attitude, which ran from 1958 to 1968, a relentless struggle w a s waged against all the after-effects of the domination that generated the colonial complex, and backward ways and customs. O u r artists grappled with these phenomena, which took the form of religious mystification, polygamy, ignorance, alcoholism, dissolute living, lying, laziness, theft, the rural exodus, parasitism, intellectualism, the undue power of griots, etc. These problems were vigorously combated b y the arts companies at all levels, and efforts were m a d e to strengthen the moral and civic well-being of the people and prepare the bases and conditions of the following phase, which would be directed to the formation of the ‘new man’. While engaged in the eradication of the vestiges of colonialism, artists explored pre-colonial history in depth and rehabilitated the great figures from the years of resistance to foreign domination and the rulers of old Africa, such as A l m a n y Samory Touré, Alpha Y a y a Diallo, El Hadj O u m a r and Soundiata Keita. F a m o u s epics, virtually forgotten during the period of oppression, were brought to light. Ancient museums, sacred forests and libraries were discovered and placed in the service of the people and the revolution. T h e masters of the old verse chronicles, the chroniclers w h o served as living libraries, storytellers of all kinds, m e n of learning w h o had jealously preserved the authentic African culture, were appointed honorary militants and are n o w engaged in reconstituting the inexhaustible heritage of Africa. By 1968, Guinea was ready for the second phase in its development, the socialist cultural revolution, which was officially launched on 2 August 1968.

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T h e aim of this revolution is to create a n e w type of socialist man w h o will build the socialist society. T h e revolution had brought life to the arts. T h e arts enhance the revolution and raise it to the pinnacles of universal culture. All schools at all levels are systematically committed to the irreversible process of the socialist cultural revolution. T h e continuous development of the ‘mass’ approach in the field of the arts and culture has facilitated improvements to the w a y in which our arts ensembles are organized. Research methods in the arts are constantly being refined. T h e preservation of existing repertoires has become a revolutionary requirement. T h e artist’s position in society has become a coveted one, and the artist enjoys the same living conditions as the leading Party militants. Artistic activity is organized in the following way: National committee of the JRDA Department of the Arts and Culture

1

National ballets National orchestras Instrumental ensembles

Regional committee of the JRDA Federal company JRDA sectional committee Sectional company Special executive of the JRDA Local arts company Administrative council C o m p a n y of the revolutionary education centre (CER)

Artistic and cultural action Artistic and cultural action is one of the main functions of L a Jeunesse de la Révolution Démocratique Africaine. It encompasses all the recreational, ceremonial, cultural, literary, folkloric, sporting and theatrical activities of the people. These events are organized by the Department of the Arts and Culture of the J R D A , at all levels, and take the following forms: Recreational events: popular dances, traditional wakes, village fairs. Ceremonies: baptism, marriage, initiation. Cultural activities: lectures to provide information and political, social and scientific education, cultural exhibitions, mass literacy training, the collection of popular traditions,radio broadcasts for the popularization of science and technical knowledge, and the education of school-pupils, students and other groups of young people (girls,peasants and workers). Literary events: the production of poems, novels, essays, other works of literature, and papers for presentation at symposia and seminars.

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Folk activities: the promotion of regional m u s e u m s and the National Museum, the Susu-Bala M u s e u m at Niagassola, the exploration and adaptation of different kinds of folklore for use by the ballet companies; the development and crystallization of African music. Theatre: periodic arts competitions at all levels aimed at bringing about a cultural revival and the rehabilitation of African history and the African personality, country-wide tours by the best companies; tours by the national orchestras in Africa and by African ballets in the world. This r a g e of activities, which is both extensive and varied, thrives on the energies of young people. T h e essential driving force behind this great progress is the mobilization of all social groups, without distinction, around the young generations. This obsession with culture on the part of the masses is a sign of an era of complete liberty and total democracy. It is the authentic, living ratification of the ‘mass approach‘. T h e Party offices at the level of the local revolutionary authorities, sections and federations, primary schools, colleges, lycées and universities, and the Party presence in the lecture-rooms of businesses and companies, sports fields, and village squares, ensure the constant participation of the young people of Guinea. OLD PEOPLE

Cultural action is one of the essential duties of every militant. Old persons recall for young researchers, writers, artists and teachers the history of our villages, towns and regions, the history of our people. They speak of the great figures of African history, retrace the major steps in the cultural process, reveal the innumerable remedies of African medicine and teach sociology, morality and indisputable authenticity. Many stories, legends, historical dramas, melodies, dance steps and movements, epics, riddles, comedies and farces have been handed d o w n to posterity by old people with a deep sense of patriotism. Most of these old people are peasants who have never been to school, yet their experience still represents for the nation an inexhaustible wellspring of cultural treasure, which in their boundless generosity they contribute to the socialist cultural revolution. This transmission of knowledge from old to young, which is quite unprecedented in Guinean history, takes place in a spirit of complete confidence, active class solidarity, fraternal sincerity and total responsibility. T h e revolutionary realism of the contribution of the older generation to the socialist cultural revolution is clearly evidenced in plays such as Gbankundo Sadji or the Almany Samory Touré,Dyanké Waali, L’Unité du Mandé, Sundyata, Le Procès du W u h de Gomba, Alfa Yaya Diallo,Bokar Biro and B a Bemba, in musical epics such as Duga, Sundyata and Boloba, in ballets such as Gbassikoloë,Kunkure Bamba, Forêt Sacrée, masques such

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as Le Niamou, Le Nimba, and narratives such as Malissadw, La Source and La Mère. Old people assist and advise the young during the various arts competitions. Through the spoken word, they help to write dramas; on their instruments, they play tunes dating back to Africa’s days of glory and prosperity; their reminiscences give our students invaluable help in writing their theses and dissertations in the human sciences; with their expert hands, they teach the most valuable techniques, styles, motifs and forms in sculpture, architecture, painting, basket-work, modelling, weaving, leatherwork and goldwork, etc. They inspire young designers with their descriptions of the traditional costumes,authentic make-up,old hair-styles, the ornaments of our ancestors, and the dress of the ‘Sofas’(warriors) of all ranks, and of craftsmen, artists, sovereigns, peasants and young girls. When writers and historians have recorded and preserved all this information, it will make a glorious page in the history of the people’s revolution and will bear witness to the fact that democracy in total freedom is the only guarantee of progress for universal civilization. WOMEN

The liberation of w o m e n and their full and complete participation in the political, economic, administrative, military, cultural and social action of the revolution are important factors in the power, constant youthfulness and continuous development of the P D G . Throughout Guinean history, w o m e n have featured prominently in the arts. Even in the years of domination, w o m e n were our village midwives, healers, initiators, soloists at our wakes, the leaders of our dances, and the custodians of certain relics which are today without price. Women’s contribution to artistic life is visible from the mobilization of their daughters to their own participation in the planning and presentation of artistic events. Their spontaneous enthusiasm, their cheerfulness, their stylish dress, their meticulousness in their work, their realism in the search for the best solutions to problems, their overflowing love of living and freedom, their unfailing fidelity to the ideal of the revolution and their attachment to the Supreme Leader of the Revolution, President A h m e d Sékou Touré, rank w o m e n as highly valuable militants of the revolution and faithful interpreters of the thought of the people. In the arts and in culture,w o m e n are the link between the people and the Party. W o m e n are thus active everywhere alongside the JRDA as counsellors, guides, assistants and archivists,generating ever-renewed enthusiasm. Our revolutionary songs were first composed by w o m e n in the streets during the dark years of colonization. Syli Sota;, M’Balia and many other patriotic songs are immortal references which daily and in ever fuller measure revive the sense of history of our militants. The popular dances they organized during the colonial period also served as occasions for

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giving information, rallying the people and promoting the struggle against the occupying forces. Today, therefore, the socialist cultural revolution is truly proud of the remarkable contribution by w o m e n to the process of artistic renewal. Our 2,442 local revolutionary authorities (PRL), 240 sections and 34 federations include women’s arts companies that take part in competitions similar to those organized for the JRDA,except that their prog r a m m e features only three items, i.e. a choral work, a play and a folk performance. This arrangement in no w a y implies that w o m e n are incapable of learning ballet or orchestral instruments; it is purely a result of the complementary w a y youth and women’s associations are organized. Guinean w o m e n have established choirs with more than two hundred members between the ages of 25 and 65. Plays in which w o m e n have taken male parts have been favourably received by the Central Committee and highly acclaimed by the public in the various regions and the capital. Several of the folk works presented by w o m e n are outstanding for their authenticity. Most vocal soloists are women. A number of Guinean singers rank a m o n g the most popular stars in Africa. W e need only refer to K a d é Diawara, w h o is reckoned to be unrivalled in the purity of her inspiration,the w a r m t h of her expression, the poetry of her diction and the eminently realistic quality of her language. Our w o m e n artists excel above all in the visual arts and the crafts. As m a y be seen, at the various women’s centres, the girls and w o m e n are highly skilled in sewing, embroidery, dyeing, cooking, etc. T h e Andrée Touré Centre in Conakry and the regional centres in the thirty-four federations contain countless examples of the progress m a d e by w o m e n in these fields. T h e objects fashioned by their skilful hands feature in regional,national, African and international cultural exhibitions. WORKERS

T h e workers are the militants of the PRL, w h o are also members of the production committees, the union sections, the regional workers’ c o m mittees and the National Confederation of Guinean Workers. They include skilled workers, doctors, teachers, accountants, drivers, economists and techniciansfrom all fieldsw h o participate in the various artistic and cultural activities, such as research into and collection of oral traditions, the transcription of music, the preparation of scripts for plays, ballets and films, the erection of scenery, etc. Through the different arts committees to which they belong, they share their knowledge, their experience of the political struggle, and their profound respect for the n e w value system of a popular democratic society. In short, the different arts companies are m a d e u p of workers, w o m e n and young people, the three forces of a single element, a single dialectic unit-the People.

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The directors of arts companies, the Arts Secretaries of the different organizations, the technicians working on arts and cultural broadcasts, the stage producers and directors are all workers of the Party-State. They serve as judges at the various competitions and are members of the technical committees for in-service training and the National Festival Committee. Arts programmes are regularly arranged for the general public and particularly for workers in the towns,rural areas,mining and industrial centres. The participation of political, trade-unionand administrative workers in the organization,management and promotion of the theatre companies of the various bodies is a revolutionary requirement, a militant’s duty. It is a form of contribution to the rehabilitation of African culture and art. Numerous workers have received a ‘diploma of artistic merit’ or a ‘companion of independence’ medal for their faithfulness to the Party’s programme and their contribution to the cultural liberation of the people. YOUTH

Young people form the group that is most readily disposed and most suited to artistic activities. They have the soundest psychological and physical make-up and are the best interpreters of the artistic programme of the socialist cultural revolution. From village to national level, the JRDA has, since 1959, accumulated a wealth of experience that is highly valuable in ideological terms, and has also mastered the practice of democracy and acquired a real knowledge of social problems. It has achieved all this through its continuous action within the framework of the P D G , the Guinean workers’ party. Drawing on the wisdom of the old, and inspired by the enthusiasm of the women and the energy of the workers, the artists of the J R D A have become genuine people’s artists. The artificial walls that made art the preserve of a group of specialists called griots have been broken down, the myth of caste superiority has been extinguished, racial barriers have been overturned, and the complex of the intellectual has been eradicated. N o w the people themselves create culture, and through it achieve self-realization.The sacred forests have delivered up their secrets, the spirits and the witch-doctorshave gone to ground, the devil no longer has any place in society.Art has become a weapon in the hands of young people and throughout Guinea has brought enlightenment, awakened the consciousness of the people, laid the foundations for tomorrow’s world and established a new value system. In schools, villages, districts, regions and in all the arts companies, our languageshave been reinstated and accorded the place that had been denied to them. They have become languages of culture and are being used in the battle to promote an African civilization that is receptive to technical, scientific and cultural progress.

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Music During the colonial period a policy of cultural assimilation was pursued in the schools, religious guilds, dance halls, concerts, brass bands and urban places of worship. Hand-in-handwith this went the large-scaleimportation of records, song collections and musical scores of European origin. But the inhabitants of the rural areas of Guinea nevertheless continued jealously to preserve the country’s traditional melodies and rhythms. While the large towns and cities were contaminated by foreign music, the rural centres resisted it stubbornly. As African light music and dance music were banned by the colonial authorities, most music-lovers looking for something exotic turned to Cuban or Latin American music, whose rhythms and melodies were more or less remotely of African origin. In this situation, one of the first things the Party had to do once in power was to disband a plethora of dance orchestras and vocal groups, in vogue under the colonial regime, which confined their performances to slavish renditions of tangos, waltzes, fox-trots, swing music and other rhythms imported from Europe and the Caribbean. Musicians and other performers in these groups were asked to return to authentic African rhythms and tunes. After the disbanding of the European-inspired dance orchestras and chamber-music ensembles such as L a Douce Parisette, les Joviales Symphonies, L’Africana Swing Band, L a Habanera Jazz, Le Guinea Jazz, L’&toile du Sud, L e Harlem Jazz Band and L’&toile du Nord, to n a m e but a few, the first typically African national orchestra was founded on 15 January 1959 in Conakry under the n a m e Syli National Orchestra. Imbued with a new spirit, the orchestra was composed of our best instrumentalists and led by dedicated musicologistsw h o were prepared to research and advance our musical cultural heritage. This was in accordance with the approach adopted by the P D G , which imposed on them a sacred obligation to draw their inspiration solely from the wealth of epic and popular folk traditions,which was henceforth to be rid of alien contrivances. These were the folk traditions that had come into existence and been performed during the numerous periods of relaxation, struggle, distress, labour, moral grandeur or growth of awareness experienced by our people. Within the framework of this policy, which aimed at a revival and restructuring of musical forms, the brass band of the recently formed Guinean national army stopped playing, as of 1 November 1959, all the old military tunes of the colonial regime and embarked on the task of learning and developing the war tunes, chants and epic songs of the old African empires. In the same context of asserting the African cultural personality, the radio and other media were asked to broadcast or publish for the information, education and self-development of the people, only such songs, ~

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stories, historical narratives or music as were in keeping with our way of life and our main areas of concern (previously, only 11 per cent of broadcasting time had been in the national languages). Revolutionary decisions of this kind inevitably gave rise to negative reactions from Africans w h o were nostalgic for bygone days and used to tastes and customs that were completely alien to the African way of life. This period of feverish activity aimed at the revival of our melodies, rhythms and polyphonic music was marked by the establishment in 1959 of a Traditional Instrumental and Choral Ensemble, attached to the national broadcasting corporation, whose artists and performers played only traditional musical instruments.This event was greeted by the Guinean people as a further positive sign of their sovereignty and the recovery of their freedom. Outstanding instrumentalists,singers,dancers,acrobats,composers and historians came from all over Guinea to form this homogeneous and harmonius body, the folk ensemble, which had been modelled on the ensembles of the African royal and imperial courts of the Middle Ages. They rejected from the outset any idea of an inferior caste or clannish, egocentric corporatism and endeavoured to bring about the rapid development of individual and collective abilities in accordance with the ‘mass’approach adopted by the Party. The Party and the government are concerned to give a practical slant to our folk music and also to purify the outlook of the older generation of artists and prevent the young generation from being contaminated by any survival of the outmoded tastes of their elders. Party and government have thus become patrons of the arts and culture and have vigorously supported and encouraged artistic creation in general, and instrumental and vocal music in particular, in the field of pure music. Following their many successes with a music-loving public, the Syli National Orchestra and the Traditional Instrumental and Choral Ensemble gradually expanded. The former gave rise to two new groups-Kélétigui et ses Tamborinis and Balla et ses Balladins, while the latter led to choirs being established in the chief towns of the different regions of the country (Kankan,Beyla, Labé, Macenta, Kissidougou, etc.). This was a reflection of the ever-increasing number of talented young persons. By the end of the first decade (1959-69) of independence, Guinean instrumental and vocal music had gained a world-wide audience and in%uence as a result of the creative ventures inspired by the teachings of the Supreme Leader of the Guinean Revolution, Conirade A h m e d Sékou Touré, the Head of State. The historical research and the efforts made to assert and consolidate the African musical personality were rewarded with one gold medal, five silver medals and the first ‘prize for culture’, awarded by an international jury to the artists and musicians of the Republic of Guinea at the first Algiers Panafrican Cultural Festival (July 1969).These successes confirmed the soundness of Guinea’s cultural policy.

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The Ballets Africains, the Ballets Djoliba, the Ballets de l’Armée Populaire,Balla et ses Balladins, Kélétigui et ses Tamborinis,the Bembeya Jazz, the Traditional Instrumental and Choral Ensemble, the Women’s Orchestra of the Gendarmerie Nationale, the Kaloum Star Orchestra and the 22 November Orchestra indefatigably tour the five continents to bring music-loversthe message of freedom and peace from the people of Africa who are now free of the yoke of colonialism. During these tours, Guinean singers and musicians have received awards of honour from numerous foreign academies of music. The liberation of Guinean w o m e n found practical expression in the foundation, in January 1960, of the first women’s orchestra within the Gendarmerie Nationale. This orchestra, composed of talented instrumentalists, has, for more than ten years, competed with other musical ensembles in all national contests. Lectures and seminars on the arts in general and on African music in particular have little by little enabled music-lovers of all tastes to enjoy the sublime pleasures of our authentic African music. The popular genres peculiar to the various linguistic groups of the country are: the epic court music of the Sofas (Upper Guinea), dance music or festive music (Maritime Guinea), satirical music (Middle Guinea), the polyphonic initiation music of the sacred forests (the Forest Region), the popular music of stories and legends (Upper, Lower and Middle Guinea), eulogistic popular music (Upper and Lower Guinea), the music of the craftsmen (Lower Guinea and the Forest Region) and pastoral music (Middle Guinea). As a result of the persistent efforts of the P D G , the number of modern and traditional orchestras and the number of choirs are on the increase in all the administrative regions of Guinea. The annual ‘culturalfortnights’ and the biennial festivals of the arts and culture feature competitions organized with the aim of selecting the best musical ensembles. Talented performers and composers, faithful to the oral, satirical, burlesque or comic tradition,who previously were not given the chance to develop or were simply unknown,have been discovered at such events and today enjoy a considerable public following on account of the stylistic quality and popular content of their compositions in the various national languages. Prizes and honours awarded by the national executive of the Party and the government have been the reward of artists whose fame has spread throughout the African continent. These include the Soproni Singers (Sory Kandia Kouyaté and Boucabar Demba), the vocalists Kadé Diawara and M a m a Kanté, the guitarists Sékou Diabaté and Ballakala,the saxophonist Kélétigui Traoré, the balaphonists Dieli Sory Kouyaté and Ansou Dioubaté, the tetrachord player M a m a Nian, the bra players Bakari Sissoko and Batrou Sékou, the epic composer Dièli Mamoudou Kandé and many others. It is impossible to make a complete list of the celebrities of all ages who have helped to impart n e w life to musical culture 82

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in Guinea, and particularly to disinter certain genres whose performance w a s formerly shrouded in mystery or even strictly reserved for small bands of initiates in certain parts of the country. Guinean musicians have helped the people to demystify divinatory polyphonic music previously unknown or forbidden, and dances and songs whose performance formerly involved an absurd psychosis or w a s tied up with an archaic ritual. This mystical, divinatory music has now been brought to light and integrated into the progressive social movement so as to m a k e a philosophical contribution to the well-being and equilibrium of the people. President A h m e d Sékou Touré, General Secretary of the PDG and the foremost patron of the arts and culture in Guinea, teaches us that:

Our artistic and cultural activities should mark a departure from the patterns followed in the past, when arrogant spectators w h o had grown fat from the labour of the people were, in addition, provided with entertainment at the people’s expense. While the Republic of Guinea is able to take pride in the fact that, through the ‘mass’approach to cultural policy, it has inspired a large number of African countries to devote themselves to the task of rehabilitating authentic African culture, our music should rise up from a world which once degraded it through the practice of colonial domination and assert the full rights of the people of Africa to share in h u m a n progress.

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‘No act of cultural consumption is immaterial’, President Sékou Touré has stated. In the Revolutionary People’s Republic of Guinea, the information media play an important role in socio-economic development and the promotion of the cultural heritage of the nation. The threefold function of the media is to inform, educate and mobilize. The Guinean media have no place for sensationalism or information aimed simply at shocking, which seeks to numb the sensibilities of the people. In Guinea, ‘the essential object of information is to promote the full range of the people’s creative activities’, whether these are material or nonmaterial. This definition ofthe role ofinformation,given by President Sékou Touré,sums up the place and function of the mass media in the framework of the cultural policy of the Revolutionary People’s Republic of Guinea. The major information media include the national broadcasting corporation (the Voice of the Revolution), Horoya, the central organ of the Party-State of Guinea,publications of the ministerial departments and the mass organizations,Syli-Film,Syli-Cinema,the theatre,the weekly popular assemblies, the meetings of the Central Committee of the P D G , etc. All these channels of information are used exclusively in the service of the people, and guide their revolutionary action. As vehicles of revolutionarythoughts and ideas,they spread throughout Africa their call for struggle against all forms of foreign domination, and militate for the restoration of the cultural personality of Africa. They also give the other peoples of the world proof of the solidarity of the Guinean people in the struggle for a more equitable world. This form of action representsthe African and universalistic dimensions ofthe Guinean revolution,which are summarized by the Supreme Leader of the Revolution as follows: ‘ W e have to build a civilization,shape a continent, forge our future.’

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Broadcasting T o carry out these aims, the Party-State has placed all the broadcasting media at the disposal of the people, particularly radio broadcasting,whose role is fundamental as it has such a direct impact on the masses. Radio rapidly became a very special cultural instrument in the service of the revolution.Broadcasting crews attend all the cultural events of the people, which radio is responsible for broadcasting nationally. Reporters travel all over the country,make contacts with musicians,singers,poets and chroniclers, conduct interviews and make recordings. Other teams of reporters cover the great regional artistic events (artistic weeks) and events organized under the auspices of the ministries of rural development (two-week arts festivals). At the time of the national festival, the focus of the artistic and cultural activities of the people, there is radio coverage of the best performances, which are recorded, filmed and archived and subsequently broadcast widely in Guinea and abroad. An appropriate commentary stresses the ideological aspects and the aesthetic and moral value of these productions. PROMOTION OF NATIONAL L A N G U A G E S

The radio lost no time in setting about the task of reinstating our national languages-derided for so long by the colonizers-as languages of culture that should serve to express all the artistic and political values of the nation. The eight national languages are used in 60 per cent of the programmes. This practice has two advantages. It fosters the use of the national languages, since languages are like physical organs in that they atrophy when they serve no function.It also facilitates direct contact with all the people and promotes their education and mobilization. The programmes of the Voice of the Revolution are a living illustration of this approach of the Party-State:‘Thelife of the people is not one thing and its culture another. The life of the people integrates culture, implicit in which are both its fundamental bases and its forms of expression.’ ‘Goingto the people’ does not,however,mean followingthem around so as to depict them in their wretchedness. The Voice of the Revolution rises with and through the masses to the pinnacles of the most up-to-the-minute technical and technological knowledge with the aim of improving their living conditions. This necessitates a keen awareness of the socio-economic factors of the national,African and international situation. ‘The Guinean revolution does not burden itself with gratuitous acts or meaningless deeds.’ The aim of the socialist cultural revolution is to speed the economic and social progress of the country. The Voice of the Revolution is an extremely effective instrument with which to implement such a policy.

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SPECIAL B R O A D C A S T S

The broadcast entitled ‘Ideology in the Service of the People’ explains and comments on the decisions of the Party-State,with a view to keeping the Guinean people in a permanent state of conscious mobilization and revolutionary readiness, and to expanding and consolidating the people’s power. The ‘Long-DistanceTeaching’ broadcast aims essentially at providing training and further training for workers of all trades, at all levels, by regularly broadcasting in-service courses. In this way, workers have the opportunity to improve their skills continuously. The ‘PRL (Local Revolutionary Authority) and Development’ broadcast illustrates the fundamental importance of agriculture in the economic development of the nation and the importance of the local revolutionary authority (PRL), the basic cell of the Party-State, in the modernization of the rural environment. This broadcast deals with the problems of the farming year, co-operatives, the rational use of time, fertilizers, seed selection, soil preparation, the damage caused by bush fires, deforestation and agricultural nomadism, problems concerning tillage, the harvest, preventive measures, steps to counter natural disasters, the organization of agricultural marketing, the modernization of the rural habitat, support for the village school and the various institutions of the local revolutionary authority, etc. The ‘University in the Country’ broadcast is a practical expression of the link between school and life: the action of the student brigades within the local revolutionary authorities. The broadcast entitled ‘Live from the Artists of the People’ introduces artists and their work. ‘A Song and its Content’ analyses popular songs and seeks to establish their message and educational value. T h e broadcast entitled ‘Forum on History’ pieces together the authentic history of the people. BROADCAST N E W S

The

news broadcast of the Voice of the Revolution does not treat news as a separate field. It relates the news to other facts that explain its background. T h e news has any value only in so far as it increases the cultural wealth of the people, the vehicle of progress.

The presa

The development of the press has been closely bound up with the struggle waged by the people to free themselves from colonial domination and imperial ascendancy. 86

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The Guinean press is a militant, compaigning press. Its history may be divided into two periods. In the pre-independence period, the press denounced foreign domination, awakened the consciousness of the people and was the mouthpiece of the political struggle for liberation. The postindependence press provides the masses with information and mobilizes them to achieve the aims of the Party-State. The PDG had its own newspaper throughout its years of struggle. In September 1947, the Party founded the Phare de Guinée to serve as its organ of information, mobilization and mass education alongside the newspaper Réveil,the weekly organ of the Rassemblement Démocratique Africain, which regularly published articles by militants and leaders of the Parti Démocratique de Guinée. On 1 April 1950, the Phare de Guinée gave w a y to the Coup de Bambou, which had to cease publication on 4 January 1951 after a considerable number of arbitrary sentences were passed on it by the Conakry Court. The weekly newspaper Liberté was neverthelessfounded in March 1951. It courageously fought off reactionary attacks and after independence took the Guinean n a m e Horoya. In addition, the Guinean working class had their o w n newspaper, L’Ouvrier. This militant, campaigning press gave voice to and supported with courage and determination the various standpoints of the Party at each stage of its struggle. The Phare de Guinée and Coup de Bambou violently and resolutely attacked the very foundations of the French colonialsystem, namely the colonial administration, the chieftaincy and the employers. L’Ouvrier focused its efforts on getting the Overseas Labour Code of 15 December 1952 passed and implemented. To this end,it actively backed two important strikes: the general strike of 3 August and the seventy-twoday strike of September-November 1953. Liberté, the last of the Party’s newspapers prior to national independence, played an extremely important role in the preparations for the following elections: the by-electionson 27 June 1954, the general election of 2 January 1956, the municipal elections on 18 November of the same year,the territorial elections of 31 March 1957,the elections for the village councils in April 1958, and the referendum of 28 September 1958. In Volume X of the works of the P D G , the Supreme Leader of the Revolution, President A h m e d Sékou Touré, writes: ‘Whether in the context of the labour unions, politics or ideology, information is the most effective means of raising social, political, national or ideological awareness.’ This is the framework in which the Guinean national press informs, educates and mobilizes, primarily through its central organ Horoya, which appears in daily and weekly editions. A number of journals are also published by the different departments and bodies of the Party-State of Guinea, such as Walikè, Fonikee, ecole Guinéenne and Sofa, to mention just a few. Guinean universities, Guinean

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embassies abroad and even most of the administrative regions bring out short publications informing the people of what is happening in their respective spheres. Revolutionary Cinema: the Syli-Cinema

Syli-Cinéma-Photo, the nationalcinematographic and photographic agency, was founded on 2 January 1967by decree of the President of the Republic. Its objects are: To carry out all studies and undertake all activities directly or indirectly relating to the development and operation of the film industry in the Republic of Guinea. To co-ordinateand direct all filmand photographicwork;to inspect filmsand handle their distribution on an exclusive basis throughout the country. T o do all photographic development and printing work, undertake press photography, set up studios for art photography, sell negatives,publish postcards,journals,brochures, and books of photographic illustrations. Following a further presidential decree promulgated in 1974,two other national organizations, Syli-Filmand Syli-Photo,were established to back up the activities of Syli-Cinéma-Photo. Syli-Film, the national film production company, produces its own films (Bakary Woulen, Mory le Crabe, Huit et Vingt, Hier,Aujourd’hui et Demain, Riziculture dans le Bagata,etc.) or undertakes Co-productionswith other countries (such as Guinée Touristique,Co-produced with France, or L’Afrique Danse (Afrika Tanzt),with the Federal Republic of Germany). All films are processed abroad. However, Syli-Filmis planning to build a film studio in Guinea, equipped with all the necessary facilities: laboratory, lighting, a stage, sound equipment, etc. Guinea is open to offers of bilateral or international co-operationin connection with the establishment and running of this studio. Syli-Photo is the organization responsible for all photographic work and for the publication of postcards and their sale in Guinea and abroad. ROLE OF T H E G U I N E A N CINEMA

The major aims of the Guinean cinema are to inform, educate, instruct, and to promote the authentic values of the people in their struggle for rehabilitation. The task of the revolutionary film-maker is to create a cinema for the people and with the people, as the cinema is an instrument to be used in the service of the people or, better still, a protagonist in the ongoing history of the people. Every Guinean film seeks to educate all sections of society and to bring about a general mobilization aimed at combating underdevelopment, starvation, man’s exploitation of m a n and cultural alienation. 88

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The f ilm Huit et Vingt (Eight and Twenty) exalts the patriotic feelings of the people with the aim of strengthening their support for the objectives of the Parti Démocratique de Guinée. The title of this f ilm refers to the eighth anniversary of independence and the twentieth anniversary of the founding of the P D G . Hier,Aujourd’hui et Demain (Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow) is a 45-minute f ilm depicting the history of our country in the period between colonization and independence. Bakary Woulen deals with the liberationof African w o m e n and attempts to combat fetishism. Riziculture dans le Bagata (Rice-growing in the Bagata) is a f ilm aimed at popularizing scientific and technical knowledge and refers to ricegrowing practices among the Baga. Feature films are made with the same aim: to educate the people by rehabilitating the values of their civilization and culture. Feature films such as Le Deuxième Front (The Second Front) or Le Salaire de la Trahison (The Wages of Treason) portray the w a y our heroes resisted the occupation and show the various plots against the Guinean revolution laid by enemies within the country and abroad. In all its films, Guinean cinema brings to the screen the problems, realities and aspirations of the people. The filmmaker’s presentation of reality should involve a critical study leading to an analysis of underdevelopment and an exaltation of the struggle waged against it by the revolution. In this context, our cinema has to be totally committed. The ultimate goal o€ the socialist cultural revolution launched at Kankan on 2 August 1968 is to obtain the creative involvement of the masses in all areas of artistic, scientific and technical culture. In a revolutionarycountry such as Guinea,the cinema is a weapon against illiteracy and should be used to change people’s attitudes and level of awareness. Guinean film directors have the worthy task of using the cinema to combat every form of social evil. A s President Sékou Touré has stated, ‘the abilities of intellectuals, artists, thinkers and researchers count for something only if they make a real contribution to the life of the people, and are fundamentallyintegrated with the action,thought and aspirations of the people’. The people’s weekly assemblies

W e in Guinea believe that each regime has its o w n approach to education. The Parti Démocratique de Guinée has introduced one of the most effective ways of providing information orally, namely the general assembly held every Friday by the militants of each local revolutionary authority (PRL). This arrangement is a living illustration of the principle of democratic centralism,according to which everything should start and end with the people. More than any other medium of information,the people’s weekly

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assemblies are the ideal setting for a fruitful exchange of ideas along democratic linesbetween the officials of the Party-Stateand the working masses. Besides these people’s general assemblies, there are conferences of officials,revolutionary councils,regional and national economic conferences and other proceedings of the Party-Statethat are all ways of informing and educating the general public. Information concerns both national and international affairs. In Guinea, the provision of information is one of the vital aspects of the socialist cultural revolution. W e are fully aware that the people need revolutionary information if they are to take decisions responsibly. This is why our radio and press function specifically in terms of the class struggle. They speak the language of the people, unlike the advertising media that resort to sensationalism with the thinly-veiled aim of mystification. W e can state with some pride that the information media in Guinea, which are owned exclusively by the people, serve as a platform from which the revolution indefatigably denounces the Macchiavellian schemes of imperialism and its local agents in Africa and throughout the world.

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Titles in this series: Cultural policy: a preliminary study Culturalpolicy in the United States,by Charles C.Mark Cultural rights as human rights Cultural policy in Japan, by Nobuya Shikaumi Some aspects of French cultural policy, by the Studies and Research Department of the French Ministry of Culture Cultural policy in Tunisia,by R a a Sard Cultural policy in Great Britain, by Michael Green and Michael Wilding, in consultationwith Richard Hoggart Cultural policy in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, by A. A. Zvorykin with the assistance of N. I. Golubtsova and E. I. Rabinovitch Cultural policy in Czechoslovakia,by Miroslav Marek with the assistance of Milan Hromadka and Josef Chroust Cultural policy in Italy, a survey prepared under the auspices of the Italian National Commission for Unesco Cultural policy in Yugoslavia,by Stevan Majstorovif. Cultural policy in Bulgaria,by Kostadine Popov Some aspects of cultural policies in India, by Kapila Malik Vatsyayan Cultural policy in Cuba, by Lisandro Otero with the assistance of Francisco Martinez Hinojosa Cultural policy in Egypt, by Magdi Wahba CuEtural policy in Finland, a study prepared under the auspices of the Finnish National Commission for Unesco Cultural policy in Sri Lanka, by H . H . Bandara Cultural policy in Nigeria, by T. A. Fasuyi Cultural policy in Iran,by Djamchid Behnam Cultural policy in Poland, by Stanislaw Witold Balicki, Jerzy Kossak and Miroslaw Zulawski The role of culture in leisure time in New Zealand,by Bernard W . Smyth Cultural policy in Israel,by Jozeph Michman Cultural policy in Senegal, by Mamadou Seyni MBengue Cultural policy in the Federal Republic of Germany, a study prepared under the auspices of the German Commission for Unesco Cultural policy in Indonesia, a study prepared by the staff of the Directorate-General of Culture,Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia Cultural policy in the Philippines, a study prepared under the auspices of the Unesco National Commission of the Philippines Cultural policy in Liberia, by Kenneth Y.Best Cultural policy in Hungary, a survey prepared under the auspices of the Hungarian National Commission for Unesco The cultural policy of the United Republic of Tanzania,by L.A. Mbughuni Cultural policy in Kenya, by Kivuto Ndeti Cultural policy in Romania, by Ion Dodu Balan with the co-operationof the Directorates of the Council of Socialist Culture and Education Cultural policy in the German Democratic Republic,by Hans Koch Cultural policy in Afghanistan, by Shafie Rahe1 Cultural policy in the United Republic of Cameroon, by J. C. Bahoken and Englebert Atangana Some aspects of cultural policy in Togo,by K.M . Aithnard Cultural policy in the Republic of Zaire, a study prepared under the direction of D r Bokonga Ekanga Botombele Cultural policy in Ghana, a study prepared by the Cultural Division of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Accra

Cultural policy in the Republic of Korea, by Kim Yersu Aspects of Canadian cultural policy, by D.Paul Schafer Cultural policy in Costa Rica, by Samuel Rovinski Cultural policy in Jamaica, a study prepared by the Institute of Jamaica Cultural policy in Guyana, by A . J. Seymour Cultural policy in Peru, by the National Institute of Culture Cultural policy in Colombia, by Jorge Eliécer Ruiz, with the assistance of Valentina Marulanda Aspects oj Algerian cultural policy, by Sid-Ahmed Baghli Cultural policy in the Republic of Panama, by the National Institute of Culture Cultural policy in Bolivia, by Mariano Baptista Gumucio Cultural policy in Argentina,by Edwin R. Harvey Cultural policy in the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, by the Institute of A r t Criticism,Ethnography and Folklore of the Academy of Sciences of the Byelorussian SSR Cultural policy in the Revolutionary People’s Republic of Guinea, by the Ministry of Education and Culture under the auspices of the Guinean National Commission for Unesco

The serial numbering of titles in this series, the presentation of which has been modified, was discontinued with the volume Cultural policy in Italy

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