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Liberty Dube and Joseph Madzimure
Young people must use new media platforms to create commercial products that not only promote the consumption of Zimbabwean cultural heritage, but also catapult them into the lucrative cultural heritage business, Vice President Kembo Mohadi said yesterday.
Addressing thousands of people at the National Culture Month commemorations held at Marega Primary School, Chief Garahwa, in Chisumbanje, Chipinge District, he said Zimbabweans should respect and honour local languages, indigenous cuisines, the national dress, folklores and use dialogue as a tool to promote social integration, conflict resolution and social development within the family, community and nation.
“I challenge our creative youth, be they out of college or university to continually harness the new media in creating commercial products that not only promote the consumption of our cultural heritage, but to also venture into cultural heritage business,” he said.
“Therefore, dance, music film, theatre, visual arts, literary, poetry and comedy, some of which we are witnessing here today, can be transformed into viable commercial products and productions across their value chains.
“As a nation, we need to continually create employment that will support livelihoods in both rural and urban communities.”
VP Mohadi said it was from culture that people learned the values of hard-work.
“Let us not tire to involve our children and the youth, who make up the bulk of our population today. We should continually school them to appreciate our being African, and our unique ways as people because there is an enemy out there who is hell-bent at undermining and eliminating us.
“When we transmit these teachings and embed cultural practices every day, our children will also ensure that this African pride and heritage will live into posterity.”
The fact that the Culture Month was punctuated by provincial launches headed by Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, said VP Mohadi, meant the Second Republic was taking issues around cultural heritage seriously.
“All this is being done to fulfil our quest to realise set objectives of the devolution agenda as pronounced in the National Development Strategy 1 as we drive sustainable national development that is heritage-based,” he said.
The commemorations were held under the theme: “Our culture, building Zimbabwe brick-by-brick”.
Before the proceedings, VP Mohadi toured exhibits mounted by organisations and individuals, showcasing an assortment of cultural wares, artefacts and traditional foods.
Minister of Sports, Art and Recreation, Dr Kirsty Coventry, said on the National Culture Week, the nation celebrated not only the richness of local culture, but also the essential role of cultural dialogue in achieving peace and sustainable development.
“The choice of Chipinge was brought about as it is one of the regions with well-preserved cultural heritage, evident from their distinct Ndau dialect. This is in furtherance of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s mantra of ‘leaving no one and no place behind’,” she said.
Marega Primary School, which hosted the event, has benefitted from legacy projects that include refurbishment of the school through painting of the eight school blocks, ablution blocks and teachers’ houses, as well as the refurbishment of the existing borehole that has since been solarised and had 4 x 5 000 litre tanks installed.
Further, four running taps have been installed while an agribusiness unit has been set up at the school.
The thousands of people who attended the event, including school children, had a memorable day as renowned artistes such as Sulumani Chimbetu, Dorcas Moyo, Blessing Shumba, Killer T and traditional dance groups took turns to entertain them.
Online Reporter