Emaali Festival seeks to turn Teso heritage into tourism, jobs

The Iteso Cultural Union (ICU) has unveiled the inaugural Emaali Cultural Festival, with organisers seeking to use Teso’s cultural heritage as a springboard for tourism, job creation and economic transformation.

The festival, scheduled for October 24 and 25 at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds in Kampala, will bring together cultural leaders, government officials, tourists, artists, entrepreneurs and members of the Iteso community from Uganda and neighbouring countries.

Speaking at a media launch held at the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) in Kampala, Charles Eweku, the Iteso Cultural Union minister for tourism, said the festival is intended to move cultural heritage beyond entertainment and make it an economic resource for communities.

“This festival is more than a cultural celebration. It is a strategic effort to activate regional tourism under the Iteso cluster, showcase Iteso’s tourism potential at a national scale and embrace tourism as a conduit for wealth creation,” Eweku said.

The festival will be held under the theme “Celebrating Heritage and Building Legacy of Iteso People”, with the regional slogan “Teso to the World.”

Eweku said the annual event will showcase different aspects of Iteso heritage, including traditional music, dance, food, farming practices, dressing, language, indigenous knowledge and historical sites.

He said the organisers expect the festival to attract more than 50,000 people, including government officials, cultural leaders, international tourists and delegates from Kenya and South Sudan.

The festival is also expected to provide a market for young people, artisans, performers and local entrepreneurs to commercialise their talents and cultural products.

According to Eweku, the organisers want to use the festival to promote several forms of tourism in the Teso region, including heritage tourism, agro-tourism, educational tourism and sports tourism.

The organisers also see the festival as a platform for strengthening relations between Iteso communities across national borders.

The Iteso community extends beyond Uganda into neighbouring Kenya and South Sudan, and the festival is expected to bring representatives from these countries together.

Eweku said the event will also encourage interaction between the Iteso and other Ugandan cultural communities, including the Acholi, Basoga and Bamasaba, among others.

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