TaFMA highlights Nagaland’s music and arts industry at world music expo in Spain

HT Correspondent
DIMAPUR, Oct 28: Theja Meru, the chairman of the Task Force for Music and Arts (TaFMA)
Nagaland, shared the strengths of Nagaland’s music and arts industry at WOMEX, the worldwide
music expo, at A Coruna in Spain. The six-day music expo will conclude on October 29.
Meru was invited as a speaker delegate to WOMEX and addressed the Asian networking session of
the global event on Saturday.
Highlighting the unique aspects of Nagaland, he spoke on the special features of the Hornbill
Festival. He said the festival, held every year from December 1 to December 10, showcases the rich
indigenous culture of the Naga people while celebrating music of all genres at the stand-alone music
festival that is one of the biggest across the region.
Meru also met Alex Walter, the director of WOMEX, wherein he called for dialogue for collective
actions, possible partnerships and collaborative actions towards promoting the music industry.
WOMEX is the most international and culturally diverse music meeting in the world and the biggest
conference of the global music scene that features a trade fair, talks and showcases concerts.
Over 3,000 professionals, including 260 performing artists, come together every October from 90
countries, making WOMEX the leading networking platform for the world music industry.
The WOMEX hosts seven stages, around 700 exhibiting companies, 100+ speakers, films an opening
concert and an award ceremony across five packed networking days.
Meru said the objective of attending the WOMEX was to foster discussion and strengthen
connections and position Nagaland as the upholder of art and culture in the world music and arts
map. He said participation in this event would make the stakeholders better understand the global
trends in music and possibilities to secure supportive conditions for artists and cultural ambassadors.
He also met several policy makers, stake holders from the international music industry and discussed
issues like improving and enforcing regulatory frameworks, expansion of international connectivity,
rapid responses and long-term strategies to effectively support artists and cultural ambassadors of
Nagaland.
Meru thanked WOMEX for the invitation which, he said, is a recognition of the music industry of
Nagaland and the efforts being made by the Nagaland government through TaFMA. He exuded
confidence that this experience would benefit the Nagaland music and arts industry in multiple
verticals as there are several takeaways.