UNITED Kingdom based politician, Pardon Tapfumaneyi, says plans were afoot to establish the African Chapter of Intitute of Cultural Diplomacy (ICD) to foster peace and harmony among diverse African communities through use of culture.
The ICD was founded in the United States of America and is also headquartered in Germany.
The institute is composed of over 45 former head of states with others working for the United Nations.
While the institute has been controlled from Europe all along, Tapfumaneyi who is part of the organisation said they have been given a nod to form a chapter representing the continent.
“We have since been given the rights to establish an African chapter of ICD, I am pleased that I will be one of those directors that will be working in that portfolio. One of the people who will be heading the chapter is also a Zimbabwean," the aspiring Mzilakazi-Mpopoma lawmaker said.
“However, the key thing is bringing diplomacy as a way of fostering global peace and harnessing harmony in our different communities, in our different nations. Cultural Diplomacy is soft power and is one of the major keys to unlock political stalemates across the globe,."
Tapfumanei also laid out the vision of the Institute of Cultural Diplomacy.
“ It was founded in America and also is based in Germany. Last week we had a chance to have a summit that involved a number of stakeholders. The Institute of Cultural Diplomacy involves people from all walks of life from leaders from different countries.
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“It has more than 45 former heads of states and governments, some working for the United Nations.
"So the institute deals with several facets which include arts, music, sports, business, economics, science, literature, history and religion; it's all embraced within cultural diplomacy,L."
The UK based politician congratulated president Emerson Mnangagwa for assuming the Southern African Development Community (SADC) chairmanship a development he said should be liberated to strengthen the country’s cultural diplomatic ties.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa last month assumed the rotational chairmanship of SADC during the regional body’s summit.
He took over the post from Angolan President Joao Lourenco at a ceremony held at the new Mt Hampden Parliament building in Harare.
“As an institute we are trying to see how we can capitalise on the chairmanship from a cultural and diplomacy perspective, locally and regionally. We hope from this chairmanship Zimbabwe will develop in many facets and the future.”
“So we are excited by this SADC chairmanship because one of the things we want to do is a number of events like conferences, thematic sessions, which deal with global peace that can affect cultural diplomacy in different nations,” he said.
