President urges traditional authorities to collaborate with universities to preserve culture

President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah says traditional authorities must collaborate with universities and museums to ensure diverse cultural heritages are well documented.

Nandi-Ndaitwah said this during the annual Masubia Cultural Festival at Bukalo on Saturday.

The annual Masubia Cultural Festival, themed ‘Preserving our Cultural Heritage, Celebrating our Future’, was attended by people from all walks of life.

According to Nandi-Ndaitwah, the traditional authorities’ collaboration with universities, schools, historians, museums, and research institutions will ensure that languages, customs, traditions, leadership history, indigenous knowledge, and cultural practices are documented and preserved.

“It will be an important undertaking that will not only preserve a rich cultural legacy for future generations but also provide valuable educational resources that deepen our understanding of Namibia’s diverse heritage and strengthen national unity and identity through mutual respect and appreciation of our cultures,” she said.

Nandi-Ndaitwah noted that cultural festivals are imperative, as they also equip the youth with knowledge of how to resolve conflict.

She urged the youth to take the teaching they get at these cultural festivals seriously and learn from the elders about the best practices for life.

“In times marked by rising conflict and geopolitical tensions, future leaders of our nation must be able to use their cultural orientation to maintain peace and order in the community,” she said.

She added that she finds the number of succession disputes being brought to civil courts instead of applying the
customary laws concerning.

“We must recognise that allowing our traditional succession to be determined by civil courts dilutes our cultural norms, if not throws them out of our communities,” she said.

The president welcomed the recent coronation of Hompa Bartholomeus Aruita Kayoka, chief of the VaGcriku Traditional Authority in the Kavango East region.

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