Mnangagwa to officiate at the Culture Week commemorations

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa will on Friday officiate at the Culture Week commemorations at Chief Njelele's homestead in Gokwe South, Midlands province.

The concept of culture week is derived from the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity by Unesco in 2001, which proclaimed May 21 as the World Day of Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development.

The week-long event, that is meant to celebrate, promote creativity and cultural diversity, roared to life on Saturday under the theme: "Resilience in Safeguarding Creativity and Cultural Diversity" and will end on May 22.

National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) director Nicholas Moyo, in a statement, said the national culture commemoration had been timed to coincide with the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development which is celebrated annually on May 21.

Moyo said the event would be held under strict observance of COVID-19 protocols and only invited guests would be allowed entry to the venue.

"The proceedings (national culture commemoration) will be broadcast live on the NACZ and Nama Facebook pages and other social media platforms. A limited number of performances and exhibitions have been lined up comprising artists from the Midlands and other provinces to showcase the country's cultural diversity," he said.

Moyo said the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development was celebrated to deepen understanding of the value of cultural diversity.

"It (World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development) also aims to support sustainable systems of governance for culture, achieve a balanced flow of cultural goods and services, increase the mobility of artists and cultural professionals, integrate culture in sustainable development frameworks and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms in advancing the goals of the 2005 Unesco Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions," he said.

Moyo said culture week activities had commenced in all the country's provinces with virtual events lined up by various arts organisations.

"Some live events have been added in line with the existing COVID-19 health protocols. All provinces will host live cultural commemorations to be officiated by provincial ministers of State," he said.

The week-long cultural fiesta would feature various online events including dance, music, film, theatre, visual arts, literature, poetry and comedy on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Tik Tok, YouTube, television and radio.