Secular and religious cultural events are not only important in showcasing best practices and innovations, but they also help to unite civilisations. They also popularise suppressed ideas and provide opportunities for exploration or utilisation.
For example, an event like the Harare International Festival of Arts (Hifa) has inspired many as it became a tourist attraction by bringing into the country hundreds of artists in a space of seven days with a recyclable audience of hundreds of people.
Over the years, Nyamatsatse Festival, Zimbabwe Mbira Festival, Ndau Festival, Nyanga Festival, Shoko Festival, Cultural Repatriation and Restoration Conference, among others have reinforced already existing efforts in promoting usage of local languages and promotion of commercialisation of entrepreneurial activities and in addition to that, as an example of a successful drive; Ndau and Ndebele languages are being taught and examined in schools up to tertiary level.
Each and every community has its own ingenious way to develop its people. The Sustainable Development Goals, in their eighth year running, are a broad ethnographic framework for culturally-oriented social, economic and political development.
Cultural festivals inform attendees on shared community and common cultural ties. Above all, they provide the chance to celebrate unity and cultural diversity as reiterated in the current United Nations theme for the cultural and creative sectors.
Cultural events are important for schools and the youth because they give them room to be proactive in building the future they want, while sharing their common understanding.
Some have reckoned: “It is believed that students participating in cultural activities perform well in their academics.
This is because they learn discipline and time management from such activities. This helps them to plan their schedule accordingly which leads to a better learning process.”
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In this vein, the National Schools Arts Festival, the Tertiary Institutions Festival of Arts and the Let Them Festival are perfect examples of cultural events which have stimulated a deep appreciation of the arts and they also provide participants opportunities for business networking.
Events in general, take for instance the flagship National Arts Merit Awards expose the best artistry and foster positive peer pressure and good citizenship.
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