On the 13th of April, over 250 young people in 7 secondary school heritage clubs in Mbarara City participated in a competition which focused on traditional music, dance, songs and speeches. Schools that participated included; Kashaka Girls’, Birere, Lake Mburo, St. Paul Biharwe, Kashari, Sheema Girls’ and Masha Seed Secondary Schools.
The competition was organised by the Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda (CCFU)in partnership with Igongo Cultural Centre and Museum as part of Heritage Education Programme activities.
It was aimed at fostering cross-learning and experience-sharing amongst young people in terms of their role in heritage safeguarding and promotion.
Ms. Kisa Kasifa, the Heritage Programme Officer at CCFU noted that the Foundation has organised a national drawing competition for the past 12 years but it is not inclusive because young people who are not artistically talented are left out.
“Our national drawing competition is not all that inclusive. We decided to organise such competitions to give the same chance to young people who are promoting other aspects of our heritage such as folk songs, dances, and endangered heritage through drama.”
Ms. Kisa added that the competition is an opportunity to share information on the role of culture in addressing different contemporary development challenges including the protection and promotion of the rights of women and girls. In this regard, one of the four components of the competition was a speech with a topic – “Our culture promotes equality between girls and boys”
Heritage club members drawn from seven secondary schools; teachers and other resource persons participated in the competition, where information on different aspects of cultural heritage was disseminated.
Kashaka Girls’ Secondar School emerged as the winners of the competition receiving a grand prize of Ugx 500,000 and a trophy. Birere Secondary School was the first runner-up and Sheema Girls Secondary School the second, receiving Ugx 300,000 and 200,000 respectively.
The president of the heritage club of Kashaka Girls noted that they are excited to win the competition, adding that it will “serve as motivation to enroll more girls into the club and for the school administration to render more support to the club”
CCFU hopes that the cash prizes will be utilised to address the needs of the heritage clubs such as procurement of musical instruments, and costumes and/or serve as start-up capital for small cultural enterprises within the schools.
While addressing the young people, Mr. Fredrick Nsibambi, CCFU’s Deputy Executive Director appreciated Igongo Cultural Centre and Museum for their invaluable contribution toward the competition and their stewardship to the Heritage Education Programme in Mbarara City.
Prior to the competition, CCFU held a regional conference for 50 teachers who serve as patrons of the heritage clubs to reflect on the activities of the heritage club and identify best practices, challenges and new ideas to take forward.
Other discussions included culture in the lower secondary school curriculum and its implications and opportunities for teachers of history and political education.