Culture Week dates set
LOCAL arts governing body, the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ), yesterday announced May 15 to 22 as the dates for this year’s edition of the Culture Week to be held virtually in line with COVID-19 regulations.
This year’s week-long commemorations, meant to celebrate and promote creativity and cultural diversity, will be held under the theme Resilience in Safeguarding Creativity and Cultural Diversity.
In a statement, NACZ spokesperson Rodney Ruwende said the national launch would be on May 15 and after events would be organised and executed at a provincial level through the NACZ structures.
“National Arts Council of Zimbabwe has begun mobilising its different stakeholders and structures to prepare for this important annual event which for the second year running will be held virtually in line with the COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings,” he said.
“Culture Week is this year being celebrated to bring social cohesion and integration through the arts and culture in the face of COVID-19 and its associated lockdown measure which lead to the isolation of families and cultural practices.”
Ruwende said the week-long cultural fiesta would feature various online showcases including dance, music, film, theatre, visual arts, literature, poetry and comedy on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Tik Tok, YouTube, television and radio.
“This year’s culture week theme is based on the recognition that while the cultural and creative sector, has been severely affected by the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19), it has remained resilient and, therefore, culture week provides an opportunity to celebrate and promote creativity and cultural diversity,” he said.
The concept of culture week is drawn 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.
Zimbabwe expanded on this day to Culture Week which seeks to celebrate the world’s diverse cultures.
The week provides an opportunity for Zimbabweans to flaunt their intangible and tangible cultural heritage forms that need to be preserved for posterity.