Ministry of Tourism - Uganda Multimedia News & Information

Ugandans gear up for International Cultural Fair

Samuel Wamuttu — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 14:24:27 +0000

Preparations for the Uganda International Cultural Fair are in top gear at the Uganda Museum in Kampala that is slated for the 29th to 31st July 2016.

As a way of drumming up support for the event, the Uganda Tourism Board late last week organised the Uganda international cultural fair Schools’ cultural quiz media briefing that saw schools participating in showing case diverse cultures. The school included, the Turkish light academy,Gallaxy international school and Kitante Primary School.

The Uganda International Cultural Fair is being organized by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development together with the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities in conjunction with Perfect Events aims at establishing a platform where both Ugandan and International communities celebrate their diverse cultural heritage and allow visitors an opportunity to display their cultures local and international, corporate and informal as well as historical/traditional cultures.

Under the theme: “Appreciating who we are: Celebrating Cultural Diversity”, this fair will also help to establish relationships with people from different cultural heritages across the globe and support creating an enabling environment in which people can work together to build strong socio economic base of Uganda hence feeding into the vision 2040 of prosperous nation, according to the organisers.

They say Uganda is composed of a diverse and rich cultural heritage expressed in arts and performances, social norms, languages, marriage ceremonies, indigenous knowledge systems of nature and environment, music and dances. The cultural heritage comprises of both tangible and intangible that are enshrined in our lives, inherited, recreated that has evolved over time.

A poster advertising the event.

“Culture is a strong part of people’s lives, it influences their views, values, humor, hopes, loyalties. Culture provides a sense of identity, social cohesion, self-esteem and continuity of humanity. The diverse cultural heritages are interconnected to one another and therefore the boundaries of ethnic cultures are fluid, they are not pure,” adding that, “We celebrate the diverse cultures for promoting unified nation in order to build strong pillars of foundation for our young generation and enhancing relationships with one another in order to have an understanding of their cultures for wealth creation and unity,” the notice reads in part.

The ministry of gender together with the other partners have hence called on the public to support the event in big numbers. The say the fair shall offer a sandwich of formal sessions and dialogues on culture, social exhibition of culture. The exhibition will include physical display of what different groups identify themselves with ranging from dressing (Fashion), art and craft, music, dance, drama, poetry, diverse cuisine, wine testing, local brew, historical traditional tales and legends, acrobatics, magic shows among other things in their individual exhibition booths. National Kingdoms, cultural clusters and the international community will be invited to showcase their cultures.

Schools are invited to offer an opportunity to the young generation to learn about the different cultures both local and international and be inspired. Schools will also be a major focus for creating a tourism culture amongst the Ugandan community since behavioral change is more effective amongst the very young as compared to adults.

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Ministry identifies 500 sites to increase on tourism

Isaac Senabulya — Mon, 23 May 2016 12:04:53 +0000

Uganda
Museum artifacts

Uganda has untapped assets in the tourism industry and the commissioner museums and monuments in the ministry of tourism, Rose Nkaale Mwanja, says that over 500 sites have been identified to increase attraction of tourists in the country. Mwanja told reporters during a meeting with visiting Turkey officials that the sites which have been neglected for ages include historical buildings where early man lived, historical landscapes, Luwero triangle mass graves, sites in northern Uganda where slave trade took place, among others.

Mwanja further says that the country has a rich history which cannot be neglected and government needs to come out and help put in place infrastructure like roads in order for such places to be accessed. She noted that the ministry is going to use the museum and monuments policy to ensure that destruction of tourism sites is stopped.

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Museveni directs ministry to develop Ankole palace into tourism destination

Gerald Businge — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 12:42:57 +0000

The current dilapidated Ankole kingdom palace, Kamukuzi, Mbarara

President Yoweri Museveni has directed the ministry of tourists to develop Ankole palace so as it becomes one of the tourists attraction in the country. This was disclosed by the minister of tourism Maria Mutagamba while meeting members of parliament on the parliamentary committee on trade, tourism and industry.

Mutagamba said that the Obugabe palace is one of the cultural sites that need to be developed since it has cultural norms and values which could attract tourists and generate more revenue. She said that the ministry is seeking 0ne billion shillings to start on this work in the next financial year.

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