All set for Dzimbahwe Arts Festival

community engagement by the university, the Dzimbahwe Arts Festival has been scheduled to run from September 25 to 29, 2012 under the theme “Empowerment Through Creative Economies”.
The festival will be held at the Great Zimbabwe University Main Campus, Charles Austin Theatre, the Masvingo Civic Centre and Rujeko Hall among other venues. 
Dzimbahwe Arts Festival Manager Dr Jacob Mapara said the festival’s five-day programme presents something for every taste.
“The festival has events that span from theatre to dance, fine art to craft art, traditional and contemporary music to poetry readings to lectures on various cultural and arts issues. There, surely, is something for everyone,” he said. 
He said the theme for DAF 2012 is motivated by the deep-seated belief that DAF should be a vehicle through which professionalism among artistes is cultivated and nurtured.
“The festival will draw experts in the arts and culture sectors of the country and from sister festivals to conduct workshops for local artistes. This will be done as a deliberate effort to augment the guiding principle of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe “Towards the Professionalisation of the Arts by 2015”.
Besides artistes and performers from Masvingo province, there will be high profile artists like the Dembo Brothers, BaShupi in music sections while the 13-hour theatre programme will feature productions from, among others, Raisdeon Baya’s Schools Playwright and Academy, Bambela, Amakhosi, ZIYA (Sabhuku Varazipi) and Comrades. The Visual Arts Section will feature displays by Friends of Joshua Trust.
BaShupi will be the main feature at the Miss Great Zimbabwe University beauty pageant which will, for the first time, be held within the programme of the festival while Dembo Brothers are scheduled to be the highlight performers at the Family Fun Day programme. 
Meanwhile, the Great Zimbabwe University is from October 4-6 2012 set to host the 39th Annual International Conference of Southern African Society for Education (SASE).
The conference, which provides an international forum for debating issues that impact on education in the Southern African region and beyond, will be held under the theme “Access, quality and equity in education for sustainable development in Southern Africa”.
Among those expected to participate in the conference are academics and/or scholars in the field of education, and other stakeholders in higher education institutions, Government departments, non-governmental organisations, and senior students engaged in masters and doctoral studies in higher education institutions.
Great Zimbabwe University Senior lecturer and vice chairperson of the SASE Local Organising Committee Dr Shumirai Nyota said there has been an overwhelming response from academics from universities in Nigeria, Lesotho, South Africa and Namibia who wish to present papers at the conference.
Dr Nyota said logistics for local and international delegates were now in place.