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festival held last Saturday.
The festival was running under the theme “Kindle the Fire of Arts”.
Speaking to Cool Lifestyle, at the sidelines of the Jesuit Music and Dance Festival, members of the Junior Parliament shared their views on the benefits of the initiative.
They highlighted that the festival promotes child participation especially in the arts sector.
The national vice president in the Junior Parliament, Mazvita Nyandoro (17), of St Augustine’s High said the arts are an important element of the community as they help to showcase local and foreign culture.
“This initiative is a commendable one as it affords the local people an opportunity to exhibit our culture as well as that of other people.
“There is so much diversity in culture so arts can be used as a tool to get in touch with our identity,” he said.
Celebrating local culture
The young legislator went on to applaud efforts by the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture to ensure that all local schools come up with ways of celebrating local culture.
“Arts disseminate information to the society and if artistes come from different places like in this case where different students come to perform at such a festival.
“It promotes cultural exchange and children benefit from such involvement,” he said.
Outgoing Junior Senator of Murehwa Chiedza Hukuimwe (19) from Emerald Hill in Masvingo had a different take and said the arts are a way of raising awareness.
“Arts are an important platform to raise awareness on pressing issues among young people. During the festival, my school performed a play that I helped to organise on some of the challenges faced by vulnerable children in their lives,” she said.
Honourable Hukuimwe also commended the efforts being put in place by the Government and the private sector.
Free education
However, she proposed free education and health care for disabled children.
Junior Minister of Lands and Land Resettlement Takudzwa Mudzuri (18) of St Ignatius College, who is the Member of Parliament for Goromonzi North, added her thoughts.
“Arts are a healthy way of eliminating harmful social and cultural social ills.
“The power of arts is great and can be used to enrich the educational curriculum,” he said.
Similar sentiments were echoed by the Junior Deputy Minister of Regional Integration and International Co-operation, Kudakwashe Mpofu (18).
“Children have a chance to gain exposure from music and dance because these elements are equally important.
“People have different strength and can fall back on the arts if they do not do well in school,” said the St Paul’s Musami High student.
Overwhelming
Father Joe Arimoso, the Jesuit education delegate, expressed joy at the overwhelming response by schools at the festival.
He highlighted that initially, the festival was open to nine Jesuit schools in Zimbabwe but has since been opened to non-Jesuit schools.
“The festival is bigger and merrier this year. We invited more schools and they brought more diversity.
“We are pleased by the participation of schools like Kuwadzana.
We also have seasoned artistes, Bob Nyabinde, Extra Large, Alexio Kawara, Leonard Mapfumo and McDee to inspire the children to take up careers in arts,” he said.
Father Arimoso also promised more “action” in the next editions.
“We hope in future, we will see the festival being screened live on national television.’’
Online Reporter