GITEGA June 27th (ABP) – The Minister of East African Community Affairs, Youth, Sports and Culture, closed, on Friday June 24, 2022, a two-day workshop organized in Gitega (center of the country), towards the various cultural actors in order to raise their awareness and discuss the missions and the functioning of the cultural center which will soon be erected in the Kabanga zone of the Giheta commune.
In his speech, the minister in charge of culture, Mr. Ezéchiel Nibigira, said that this cultural center aims to present Burundian culture and heritage in all its forms. These include its language, its beliefs, its customs, its technological knowledge because, according to him, culture constitutes the spinal cord of a country. Minister Nibigira also pointed out that the creation of a cultural center in Burundi will bring the country income in foreign currency since tourists will buy memorial objects from the country.
The center will also contribute to job creation and the promotion of artistic works from the various provinces of the country.
The minister in charge of culture pointed out that the degradation of culture currently observed throughout the world is due to several factors. Regarding Burundi, he noted that the painful moments that Burundi has experienced, the appearance of Covid-19, climate change and the accumulation of new information and communication technology are the main factors that push the Burundian culture to lose its flavor.
One of the exhibitors indicated that the effective establishment of that center will constitute a privileged space for weaving meetings, organizing confrontations and developing links between people. It will also be an opportunity for cultural education, given that this cultural center will forge Burundians’ own identity, strengthen and preserve the feeling of belonging to the community of Burundians with a common destiny. He added that the activity programs that this center will develop will provide opportunities for leisure, entertainment, learning and experience sharing.