Unam’s northern campuses hold cultural festival

UNIVERSITY of Namibia’s northern campuses held a six-day cultural festival last week at the Hifikepunye Pohamba campus in Ongwediva.

Ongwediva mayor Jason Asino officially opened the festival on behalf of Oshana governor Clemens Kashuupulwa at the campus’s main hall on Thursday.

He thanked the university management for their visionary leadership and steadfastness in their quest to promote and to sustain good mentorship programmes such as the cultural festival. He said events like this don’t only transform the youth into responsible citizens but also enabled them to tackle contemporary challenges facing the country.

“Within the invading global influences, we need to teach our youth to be resilient and only emulate and copy the positive elements of the invading cultures and preserve the positive aspects of our own culture as we adapt to the changing environment to survive and evolve,” Asino said.

He added that cultural festivals should advocate positive values across various subgroups of the Unam community and subcultures.

“Cultural performances, traditional attire and the traditional dishes served should not be looked upon with contempt and be despised but should be embraced as a source of inspiration because they are the artefacts that link us with our ancestors,” he said.

Asino pointed out that the theme ‘Cultural identity in a global village’ challenges the youth to interrogate how they can preserve their own cultures and at the same time remain open to invading ones.

He said self-respect and preservation of one’s cultural values and norms, conservation of the environment and protection of cultural heritage sites are universal to all cultures. Asino added that the African sense of dignity is constantly being eroded by foreign cultures, especially the Western television commercials and disturbing music images.

He said that the so-called new lifestyles are not only degrading to women but also misleading and misinforming young people and turn communities and societies into decay. “Together with substance abuse, they account for the deterioration in youth behaviour and social evils in our country, the SADC region and the whole continent,” he said.

The mayor urged the nation to guard against tribalism, ethnicity, regionalism, xenophobia and racism as these deprive people from co-existing, from reaping all socio-economic benefits, retard intellectual capacities and economic development.

Asino urged students to take their education seriously because it is not only the greatest equalizer but also enhances their potential to perceive things differently and to adopt a balanced world view that can benefit humanity.

The cultural festival started with a ‘clash of the culture choirs’ from the different campuses.

On Thursday students participated in a street parade before the official opening of the cultural festival was held. The opening was marked by performances by Bullet ya Kaoko, Maxwilili cultural troupe and HP choir.

The Oxungi kOpale event, which is Oshivambo for folktales, was held on Friday. Students gathered around a campfire where they asked panellists Vilho Tshilongo and his son Tangi Tshilongo, both authors of books on Ovambo culture and tradition, questions pertaining to cultural and social issues.

The festival ended on Saturday evening with live performances by artists Twazis, Mbuku and Kamati and many more at the HP main hall.

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