The Ministry of Education has said teaching school children, cultural heritage is key in their development and that of the country at large.
Speaking during the 13th annual youth cultural heritage awards organized by the Cross Cultural Foundation Uganda(CCFU) at the Buganda Heritage and Tourism Board premises in Mengo, Henry Ssemakula, a principle education officer in the department of university education and training in the ministry of education and sports said teaching children cultural heritage helps them to get grounded in this aspect.
“All that we are doing or will come in the future starts with what was there long ago. As the ministry, we don’t only have interest in academics and science or ICT but also to make people know how they started, the values coming from their clans, tribes and cultures and what to pick from this to help the country to develop,” Ssemakula said.
“Beyond teaching academics, we encourage schools to teach music, dance and drama which have a lot of cultural information. For example, if you pick a dance from Acholi, Busoga, Buganda, Bunyoro or Ankole, it has a message. It is either related to relationships or ceremonies like marriage among others.”
The official from the ministry of education said with the world advancing at a terrific speed, there is a lot of cultural adjustment that he said some of which might end up eroding the country’s cultures.
As a ministry of education, we are interested in the new cultures coming in to see is they are adding value to our country, are they simply influences from another world that are coming to disrupt our won? We are therefore keen to tell our children what is good with our own cultures and what could be bad with new ones.”
Fredrick Nsibambi, CCFU’s Deputy Executive Director said the awards are meant to recognise talented young people who demonstrate an exemplary appreciation of Uganda's rich cultural heritage.
"Their artwork not only showcases their creativity but also highlights the role culture in addressing contemporary development challenges such as early marriages or teenage pregnancies," Nsibambi said.
He said these young people have contribution towards safeguarding and promotion of Uganda’s cultural heritage.
“We decided to work with young people because they are the majority in this country and if we want to effectively promote culture in the country, it is prudent we tapped into this group. Once we work with these young people, tomorrow we will have people who are very appreciative of our culture, who will understand it provide for it in our national budget and development plan.”
During the ceremony, 14 young people received awards for prompting Uganda's cultural heritage.
“ The awards are part of CCFU’s long term intervention, the Heritage Education Programme which promotes an appreciation of Uganda’s diverse cultural resources through the eyes of young people,” he added.
Nsibambi said the programme which is implemented with support from Bread for the World and TotalEnergies EP Uganda, has engaged over 200 heritage clubs in secondary and primary schools and 21 Community Museums
He appealed to government through the Ministry of Education to strengthen the mainstreaming of culture in the different academic programmes and curriculum right from primary schools to tertiary institutions.