The 2nd Annual Uganda International Cultural Fair under the theme “Cultures Empowering Each Other” will be held at Uganda Museum, on July 28th-30th, 2017.
The Fair organised between Ministry of Tourism Wild Life and Antiquities and Perfect Events under a Public Private Partnership arrangement was launched earlier in the week by Hon. Florence Nakiwala Kiyingi, the Minister of State for Youth and Children Affairs.
The Purpose of the fair is to avail, create an avenue/platform for the diverse African cultural heritages and endowments for exhibition of their potential to attract worthwhile cultural tourism benefits in terms of income earnings, exposure, and knowledge to improve on existing potential for maximum utilization
It will attract at least 300 exhibitors of Africa’s most interesting cultural products like artifacts, memorabilia, cuisines, fashion, music, dance and drama, empowering them to showcase their culture, as well as exhibitors from other parts of the world; of the 300, 100 should be youth and at least 70 should be women
It will also attract at least 20,000 tourists to the expo; from Uganda, East Africa region, the rest of Africa and the international community, create employment opportunities by giving skills to youths and women on how to produce and brand commercial artifacts, memorabilia among other cultural tourism products for both domestic and International market and increase export of tourism products like artifacts, crafts, memorabilia, music, food and fashion.
Among them will be Ankole’s most revered dishes kalo or millet cake got from grinding millet grains into flavour on a grindstone and eshabwe prepared from butter which is got from cattle milk.
Identifying, facilitating and training at least 100 exhibitors with unique talents that have potential to be developed and added onto the tourism value chain.
The event will comprise activities including; side conferences/sessions on culture and conservation (Wildlife, climate & Water), Culture and money, Culture and Family, and Culture and policy, School Quiz competitions at the level of primary, secondary and tertiary institutions, topics will cover conservation ie wildlife, climate& water, food, Music, Cultural events, fashion and cultural diversity among other things
The Africa Ministerial High Level Thematic Debate, will comprise ministers of tourism and culture across Africa deliberating on key issues of cultural tourism and Wildlife Exhibition and education by UWEC with main focus on totems as spiritual emblems for many Ugandan cultures and relationship with conservation.
Cultural exhibitions by different communities both local and international, among the things to be exhibited will include foods, fashion, key cultural/economic activities like iron smelting, weaving, backcloth making, music, dance, poetry, storytelling, senga sessions among other things
There will be awarding different categories including best exhibitors, best essays, most culturally aware schools from the quiz competitions among other categories.
Ugandans and the International Community are called upon to come and showcase their cultures, learn from each other’s cultures and explore opportunities of investment and earning from cultural tourism.
