The Rwandan Cultural Week, introduced by the Ministry of Sports and Culture in 2011, aims at allowing Rwandans assess their culture. Several activities took place throughout the week on both district and national levels to give Rwandans the opportunity to reflect on and enjoy the beauty of their culture. This year’s cultural week which kicked off on November 19th, 2012 ends today with a cultural show at Amahoro Petit Stadium. The different activities included cultural elders passing on knowledgeable facts and traits to journalists in a workshop. They also explained the kind of pictures and articles published in the media which contradict with Rwandan culture. The elders also met with religious leaders to pass on opinions and commitments to safeguard Rwandan cultural values in their respective fields of domain. The workshops largely focused on the contribution of journalists and religious leaders in the promotion and development of Rwandan culture. The recommendations from these workshops will be documented and policies will be attained so as to find measures to implement the conservation of culture. I got a chance to participate in the workshop for journalists and learned a lot. For instance I discovered there is a lot of material that is aired or published by media outlets which extensively contaminates Rwandan culture regardless of cultural diversity. We were also reminded to conserve our culture although development and technological advancement leads to the evolution of cultural traits. Our culture unifies us. Therefore it’s important to protect our culture if we are to keep our identity intact. This year’s theme said it all, “Umucowacu,isokoy’iterambere” which is literally translated as, “Our Culture, the Cornerstone of our Development.”Throughout the week, a talent and art exhibition went on at Amahoro Petit stadium and the participants ranged from painters, poets, fashion designers, dancers to musicians and government bodies with cultural discipline in their domain. I think that the cultural week was fruitful given the fact that it was organized during holiday. Children got the chance to learn more about their culture and the entrance was totally free.
