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Arts Reporter
Preparations for Culture Week commemorations are underway. This year’s theme is “Culture Week: Towards Increased Community Participation”. The commemorations will run from May 21 to May 27 and will take place in all provinces. The official national launch of this programme will be held in Matabeleland South Province in Filabusi at Godlwayo Culture Centre.

The launch will be coordinated by National Arts Council of Zimbabwe in partnership with the hosting province through the local organising committees under the leadership of Chief Maduna.

During the launch, there will be various activities taking place and these will include dances, herbal exhibitions, poetry, fashion shows of traditional wear and folk-story telling sessions from different ethnic groups.

Culture Week is a programme that recognises the need for co-existence and inter-cultural dialogue taking into cognizance local cultural diversity amongst local people. The programme will be filled with lots of exciting events and various activities that show and are a reflection of various cultures in Zimbabwe.

In a statement, NACZ communications and marketing officer Cathrine Mthombeni said Culture Week is very important because it encourages people from across different cultural backgrounds to participate.

“Culture forms are an integral part of people’s existence hence the importance of celebrating culture. It seeks to encourage the participation of people from across the cultural divide in cultural activities and discourse.

“The participation of communities in Culture Week will result in harmony and ownership of the programme by communities who are involved in the transmission processes as well as the enactment of culture forms,” Mthombeni said.

She also said that one day was not enough for artists to express themselves hence one week was good enough for the artists to celebrate diverse Culture.

“Artists found that one day was not adequate to allow them to celebrate and display their works to the public therefore this Culture Week will allow them to express themselves in different diverse ways,” she said.

The NACZ inaugurated Culture Week in 2002 after it discovered that one day was too short a period to leave an impact in people. It decided to make this occasion a week-long event hence the existence of the Culture Week every year.

The Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity by UNESCO in 2001 proclaimed 21 May of each year the World Day of Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. Cultural diversity is a defining characteristic of humanity that when cultivated and respected can create a well-developed nation.