04 Dec 2023

Chobe District has since 2014, identified 94 unique Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) elements, says Minister of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture, Tumiso Rakgare.

Speaking at a welcome ceremony for the 18^th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee Meeting of the ICH (18.COM) in Kasane on Sunday, Rakgare said the elements reflected the rich tapestry of Botswana’s diverse ethnicities and traditions.

Since becoming State Party to the 2003 Convention for Safeguarding of the ICH in 2010, Botswana has inscribed three ICH elements in Chobe and Kgatleng Districts.

In 2012, the Earthenware, pottery-making skills, (Dinkgwana) was inscribed from the Kgatleng District followed by Dikopelo folk music also from Kgatleng in 2017.

Seperu folk dance from the Chobe District was inscribed in 2019.  “This illustrates our commitment to safeguarding and promoting our living heritage. This effort extends beyond preservation, it intertwines culture with the environment, underlining the symbolic relationship that sustains our communities,” said Rakgare.

He said the ministry had been pivotal in ensuring that communities safeguard their living heritage, through capacity building, funding and technical expertise often supported by UNESCO.

For his part, UNESCO Assistant Director General for Culture, Ernesto Otteno said Africa was a global priority for UNESCO, serving as a power house contributing immensely to the richness of global heritage.

He said the convention had served as a bridge connecting communities and cultures across the globe over two decades. United in safeguarding ICH.

Otteno said the convention’s strength lied in the power to forge connections among people fostering a sense of belonging in communities.

“As we come together this week, let us reflect on the profound role of the living heritage as a bridge between people,” he said.

 Otteno said the Chobe District was blessed with biodiversity of connection between nature, people and culture.

He further said with many challenges of climate change faced today, ICH could offer contextual relevant solutions to address such challenges.

The 18.COM is also a celebration of the Convention’s 20^th anniversary and 182 delegates have converged in Kasane for a week-long deliberation on measures to safeguard, preserve and promote living heritage. Ends