Arts, culture and heritage capacity development workshop update held in Matobo

Amagugu International Heritage Center  on 23 and 24 November 2016 conducted an Arts, Culture and Heritage capacity development workshop in Matobo's Maleme Rest Camp.

The organisation said  the workshop was  for capacity development on arts, culture and heritage for Councillors and Council management from Matobo and Mangwe Rural District Councils.

"Also in attendance were the Chief Executive Officers and District Administrators from the two Districts. Also an important stakeholder group were representatives of selected Government departments such as Education, Women, Youth as well as Small and Medium Scale Enterprises," said the organisation.

"Having conducted a baseline survey to determine the status of arts, culture and heritage in four Matabeleland South Provinces of Matobo, Mangwe, uMzingwane and Beitbridge, the capacity development workshop sought to share the findings and enhance the comprehension of Councillors and Council management in Matobo and Mangwe on the nexus between service delivery, arts development and sustainable local level economic growth."

The Chief Executive Officers from Mangwe and Matobo shared what their respective Districts have been doing over the years to support arts development in their areas.

"Creative practitioners in the workshop shared their support aspirations that ranged from access to working space to development of market linkages. Participants explored the key tangible and intangible cultural heritage elements found in their respective Districts, making apparent some of the key arts, culture and heritage policy priority areas," said the organisation.

"With a common understanding of the rationale of mainstreaming arts, culture and heritage in service delivery, the next training is for uMzingwane and Beitbridge Districts in early 2017 after which cultural policies and strategies for the four Rural District Councils will be developed."

"Ours is a quest to strengthen local level arts development. The Strengthening Local Cultural Policy in Zimbabwe project is implemented with support from UNESCO under the International Fund for Cultural Diversity."