Kenya’s First International Cultural Symposium Launched in Nairobi
The British Council, through its East Africa Arts program under the Cultural Heritage for Inclusive Growth program, is hosting the largest gathering of cultural experts from around the world ever seen in Kenya for a major event at Nairobi’s National Museum dedicated to cultural heritage. The event is a part of the Cultural Heritage for Inclusive Growth programme, a two-year programme launched last year
Organised in partnership with Twaweza Communications, the two-day event happening at the Nairobi National Museums, entitled Culture Grows: between Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. brings together 150 community representatives, practitioners, researchers and policy makers in the creative and technology sectors from Kenya, sub-Saharan Africa, the UK, Latin America and Asia. The event, which is a part of the The Cultural Heritage for Inclusive Growth program, a two-year pilot programme which was rolled out last year with local partners in three countries, Kenya, Columbia and Vietnam, aims to attract all partners involved in the Programme in the first year, to learn collectively, as well as demonstrate the key role that cultural heritage plays as a valuable contributor to economic growth.
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to gather such a wide range of policy makers and creatives in one room, to share ideas from different nationalities on what their cultural heritage means to them. We hope this event will not only provide inspiration but encourage young, emerging cultural heritage professionals and artists by demonstrating how cultural heritage is a driver of sustainable economic growth.” Jill Coates, British Council Kenya Country Director said.
Joy Mboya, Executive Director of the GoDown Arts Centre, and a keynote speaker at the event said, “I am confident that this symposium will help to highlight the views of the many people who work so hard to preserve our cultural heritage nationally and internationally. Cultural heritage plays an important part in our society’s development, particularly youth development, and we cannot ignore the essential role it plays in promoting sustainable economic development, both now and for future generations.”
Other speakers include; George Henry Okello Abungu, a Cambridge-trained archaeologist and former Director-General of the National Museums of Kenya; Fardowsa Jama, founder and Executive Director of Awjama Cultural Research and Reading Center, the organization behind educational and empowering events such as the Somali Heritage Week in Nairobi and Somalia; Andiswa Bukula, a language researcher at the South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLAR) hosted at the North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa and Ngartia Bryan, a Kenyan poet and the writer behind the famed Too Early for Birds production.
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