The Sunday Mail
Government should prioritise the adoption of the new National Culture Policy as this will help promote and protect the diversity of cultural expressions in the country, cultural experts say.
Since 2009, Zimbabwe has been reviewing the existing national culture policy which was launched in 2007 and observers say Cabinet should now make efforts to approve the draft policy as it has passed the validation stage.
The 2007 policy had remained peripheral and is seen as failing to address some of the problems confronting the sector in the present moment.
The adoption of a new policy could be timely as the country is in the process of compiling information for the periodic reporting on the 2005 convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions in Zimbabwe.
Giving a lecture at a data collection training workshop in Msasa last week, UNESCO expert Stephen Chifunyise said despite the draft policy having been submitted to Cabinet, it is yet to be approved.
He said hopes were high that the draft policy would be approved immediately since it had passed the validation stages. In the foreword of the draft policy, President Mugabe said the policy acknowledges the country’s indigenous cultural diversity.
“The National Culture Policy of Zimbabwe acknowledges and recognises the humanity of all Zimbabweans, including our indigenous cultural diversity, fully aware of the mutual social responsibility that we have towards safeguarding our tangible and intangible cultural and natural heritage,” read part of the President’s draft foreword.
The new policy has since been given a nod by the civil society represented by Arterial Network through a position paper which acknowledged the need for a new culture policy.
“Civil Society hopes that this Position Paper will be used as a reference point by key decision and public policy makers, including the ministry (of Arts and Culture).
