Youths urged to honour traditional customs and cultures

YOUTHS in the country have been urged to honour various traditional cultures of different tribes so as to build up a unified national cultural norms and customs for the development of the future nation.  The call was made yesterday in Dar es Salaam by the Deputy Director of culture in the ministry of Information, Youths, Culture and Sports, Joyce Hagu during the celebrations to mark the International Cultural diversity Day which was held at Russian Cultural centre in the city.  The occasion which was celebrated under the theme titled, “Our culture speaks for the world we want” aimed to create greater awareness of cultural values and the need to preserve them in the country, was organized by the United Nations office in the country and attended by youths most of whom secondary students based in Dar es Salaam city. The secondary schools are Tusiime, Saint Athony, Royola, Laurente, Makongo, St. Marks and Mbezi Beach High school. Also in attendance were some invited diplomatic corps accredited in the country. The occasion was accompanied by the various performances shown by students from these secondary schools that depicted the real situation showing types of traditional dresses, marriage negotiations, male circumcision rites and youths’ initiations as part of various cultures and customs from different tribal groups in the Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar. Among the performers on the stage were various cultural groups who included foreign and local groups such as the Indian cultural dancing group and National Swahili Council (BAKITA) and some Tanzanian artist groups who took most time to entertain the audience in their performing concerts. Before she delivered her speech, the deputy director asked the audience to observe a one silence minute in honour of the beloved Tanzanian artist Albert Mangwea who passed away on Tuesday this week while in South Africa where he went to perform his concerts. In her speech, she said that, the national culture is the only targeting point to be honoured at every cost in order to build youths who are expected to be future leaders of the country, and therefore its imperative for youths to imitate what our forefathers had left as a treasury for the tribal customs. However, she maintained that, honoring the culture goes alongside with honoring traditional dances, dresses, songs, language and African culture. These are the virtues and myths which transpires the welfare of a true African state. The World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development tends to be marked in countries that embraced their varied cultural history and acknowledged the importance of embracing it. The occasion reminds people to deepen their understanding on the importance of cultural diversity and harmony. Various events are organized to increase the understanding of issues around cultural diversity and development among governments, non-governmental organizations and the public. Many of these include presentations on the progress of implementing the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity. Events include seminars for professionals, educational programs for children and young adolescents, the launch of collaborations between official agencies and ethnic groups and exhibitions to help people understand the history of various cultural groups and the influence on their own identities.