Zimbabwe Celebrates National Culture Week Amid Coronavirus

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Some Zimbabwean artists on Saturday night performed at a virtual concert to mark the end Zimbabwe’s national Culture Week which began on Monday.

The concert, which featured some of Zimbabwe’s top musicians, was screened live on national television and on social media platforms due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Zimbabwe is currently on a lockdown and social gatherings are banned.

The Culture Week, which ends on Sunday, is a seven day annual event that celebrates the importance of cultural diversity in the country through various cultural expressions such as music and dance performances, art and craft exhibitions among others.

It is coordinated by the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe and held around the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, which is observed on May 21 every year.

This year’s edition ran under the theme “Zimbabwe at 40, Celebrating our Cultural Diversity and Heritage”.

Speaking at the official launch of this year’s Culture Week on Zoom platform, Zimbabwe’s Minister of Youth, Sports, Arts and Recreation, Kirsty Coventry, said Zimbabweans should be proud of their rich cultural heritage.

“Let us be proud of our heritage by caring for one another and not exposing each other to COVID-19 so that we can use our cultural identity to win the fight over this disease that threatens our existence as humanity,’’ she said.

Coventry said this year’s edition of Culture Week was significant as it came at a time when families were spending more time together due to the national lockdown.

“This provides an opportunity for us as Zimbabweans to appreciate and enhance our own knowledge and understanding of our own culture and those of others around us,’’ she said. (/NAN)