The South African Script Writers’ Union (SASWU) and its training arm, The Scriptwriting Institute, have called a public meeting on 21 June in Johannesburg to address their current funding crisis.

According to the Script Institute’s Nicola Rauch, over R4m worth of signed contracts was scheduled to flow through the organisations this year. “However, the inability of funders to deliver on payment schedules and commitments has caused the virtual shutdown of operations at the Institute and SASWU.”

This has impacting directly on Learners in the ‘Write Now’, ‘North West’, ‘Writing in the Margins’, ‘SASWU Laboratory’ and ‘Level 5 Scriptwriting Fundamentals’ programmes. ‘Script Camp’ has also ground to a halt at an important stage.

“Having barely made it through the same scenario last year, the admin staff, trainers and learners are generally fairly fed-up with the situation. There is no clear indication as to whether either a small Trade Union or a non-profit Training Provider is sustainable in the present climate.

“A decision needs to be made and options worked through. We need the support and input of as many scriptwriters as possible,” says Rauch.

The meeting will be held on Saturday, 21 June at 14h00 in the organisations’ Newtown offices (3rd Floor, 2 President St, Newtown).

For more information contact Rauch on nicolarauch@webmail.co.za.