National Coordinator for Civil Society Network on Climate Change (CISONECC), Julius Ng’oma says people can easily embrace climate resilience interventions if such measures are advocated through arts and culture.
In an interview with Malawi News Agency on the sidelines of a arts and cultural festival jointly organised by the Blantyre City Council (BCC) and the Blantyre Arts Festival (BAF), Ng’oma said arts and culture have the potential to inspire communities to conserve the environment.
“Arts and culture has the ability to mobilise communities to take action on effects of climate change because of its characteristics in uniting and bringing harmony among people of diverse cultural orientations,” Ng’oma said.
He added that there was need to come up with different messages that should empower communities to effectively and sustainably conserve the environment by regarding arts, culture and environmental conservation as a unit.
Ng’oma observed that effects of climate change pose a number of threats both to human beings and the environment, citing the devastating Tropical Cyclone Freddy which affected most of the southern districts of Malawi earlier this year.
“We can all testify as to what extent disasters which happen due climate change can do. The cyclone experienced earlier this year left scores of people dead, destroyed houses and crop fields in its wake,” he said, adding that it was important therefore to empower communities with disaster risk management information for disaster preparedness as well as recovery.
Ng’oma said CISONECC decided to join forces with BAF and BCC in a bid to raise community awareness on disaster risk management cycle.
“The youth and women are our main target so that they can engage in a dialogue on climate change adaption and raising awareness to the masses on renewable and clean energy alternatives,” he added.
In his remarks over the week end during BAF, Secretary for Local Government, Culture and Unity, James Chiusiwa said the BAF is one of the oldest arts and cultural celebrations in Southern Africa, noting that it helps in bridging the gap between culture and traditions making it a powerful force in bringing unity in diversity.
“Gatherings like these are a reflection of our cultural heritage but most importantly these events also help to nurture harmony and strengthen unity in diversity. Arts and culture also play the role of information dissemination on a wide range of topics affecting society,” Chiusiwa said.
Earlier, Founder and Director of BAF, Thomas Chibambo said they decided to partner BCC in the 2023 festival as one way of ensuring the event was more inclusive to reach out to a wider audience.
“This year’s event is bigger and better. We have involved local and international artists to make it more attractive,” he said, pointing out that the festival had attracted the participation of Zimbabwe’s APAMA Arts and Dance Troupe apart from local traditional dances.
This year’s BAF was held under theme: ‘Celebrating culture and environmental resilience and the promotion of the participatory municipal management.’
CISONECC in collaboration with Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy (CEPA) is currently implementing a project called Promoting Equitable Access to Clean Energy in peri-urban areas of Lilongwe and Blantyre with support from the European Union and Oxfam.
Reported By Arnold Namanja
