3rd Edition of the EAC Arts and Culture Festival - JAMAFEST 2017 set for 7th - 15th September 2017, Kampala, Uganda
East African Community Secretariat; Arusha, Tanzania; 14 July 2017:
The East African Community(EAC) Secretariat together with Partner States will hold the 3rd edition of the Jumuiya ya Afrika Mashariki Utamaduni Festival (JAMAFEST) from 7th – 15th September 2017 in Kampala, Uganda.
The main objective of the Festival is to promote regional socio-cultural integration through arts and culture by providing a regional platform to showcase culture as a prime driver of EAC integration.
The JAMAFEST 2017, will run under the theme; “ Culture and creative industries: An Engine for unity and Employment Creation”. A theme Song has been composed and will be played throughout the festival period as part of the publicity campaign of creating awareness of the role of arts and culture in regional integration.
The main venue of the festival will be Kololo Ceremonial Grounds where the main stage for cultural performances, the exhibition and market place will be located. The official opening and closing ceremonies will also be held at the same venue. The subsidiary venues include Uganda National Cultural centre where specialized shows including film festival, comedy and drama will be conducted. Hotel Africana will host the Symposium, fashion show and the closing Dinner gala.
Speaking ahead of the festival, the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Productive and Social Sector, Hon. Christophe Bazivamo disclosed that the 2017 Festival will also host a Carnival which will run through different selected parts of Kampala City.
He said festival events will run for seven days and will include a Carnival, live musical performances, theatre/comedy, arts and craft exhibitions, literary works, film shows, poetry, storytelling, acrobatics, workshop/symposium, culinary art, fashion show and children theatre. The Festival will also have a Cultural Market place which is specifically designed to provide opportunities to Festival Participants for selling and buying of cultural products and cultural business networking, added Hon. Bazivamo.
Jamafest website is already up and running and can be accessed from here: http://jamafest.mglsd.go.ug/
The festival is expected to bring cultural communities within the region together, foster social cultural interaction and promote peace and harmony among the people of East Africa and enable people move across borders to share experiences and ideas thus creating long-lasting connections.
In addition, Jamafest is envisaged to help to develop a new audiences for the region and promote Cultural tourism in the EAC as well as generate income and jobs while promoting social inclusion, cultural diversity and human development.
- ENDS -
Notes to Editor:
The Jumuiya ya Afrika Mashariki Utamaduni Festival (JAMAFEST), is a regional Arts and Culture Festival held in the East African Community Partner States on a rotational basis. The Festival is a result of the 23rd Council of the Ministers directive to the Secretariat to organize and hold regional Arts and Culture Festivals and Sports Tournaments as one of the strategies for fostering socio cohesion among East Africans.
Two successful editions of Jamafest have been held so far. The 1st Edition was held in February, 2013 in Kigali, Rwanda under the theme : “Fostering the East African Community Integration through Cultural Industries”. The 2nd edition of the Festival was hosted by the Republic of Kenya at the at Kenyatta International convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, Kenya in August 2015 under the theme “Unleashing the Economic Potential of Cultural and Creative industries in the EAC”.
For more information, please contact:
Mr Owora Richard Othieno
Head, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department
EAC Secretariat
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 784 835021
Email: OOthieno [at] eachq.org
About the East African Community Secretariat:
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of five Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
The EAC Secretariat is ISO 9001: 2008 Certified