10 Oct 2013

Batswana should adopt measures that preserve, safeguard and enhance the diversity of cultural expressions, a principal culture officer in the Department of Arts and Culture said in Tsabong recently.

Speaking at a workshop on awareness and implementation of the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions,  Nakiso Kubanji said convention was meant to protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions to prevent possible extinction.

Kubanji said the convention also sought to create conditions for cultures to flourish and to freely interact in a mutually beneficial manner. “Freedom of thought, expression and information, as well as diversity of the media, enables cultural expressions to flourish within societies,” she said.

“There is a need to incorporate culture as a strategic element in national and international development cooperation.” She said the convention fostered dialogue among cultures to ensure wider and balanced cultural exchanges in the world in favor of intercultural respect and a culture of peace.

Cultural diversity was strengthened by the free flow of ideas and was nurtured by constant exchanges and interaction among cultures. Kubanji observed that the diversity of cultural expressions, including traditional cultural expressions, was an important factor that allowed individuals to express and share with others their ideas and values.

The convention promotes respect for the diversity of cultural expressions and raise awareness of its value at the local, national and international levels. It seeks to reaffirm the importance of the link between culture and development, particularly for developing countries.

“Botswana should be able to identify, nourish and monitor those cultural values which lay a solid foundation for national development,” she said. “In order to achieve this, research on key traditional institutions of mephato, bogwera and bojale with a view of identifying those aspects which form a base for promoting cultural values, is of critical importance.” Ends