1. It is indeed a great pleasure for me to be with you here once more, for this wonderful and momentous occasion, the award ceremony for the President’s Day Arts Competitions.
2. When this initiative was introduced in 2008, it was intended to expose and promote our arts and culture. It was becoming evident that there was serious erosion of our arts and culture, mostly emanating from social elements such as modernisation and urbanization. The more worrying factor was that it would have been the youth in particular, who would have lost contact with our tradition pertaining to understanding and appreciation of our rich culture; which include music, poetry, tapestry embroidery, basket weaving and others.
3. It is, therefore, encouraging to note that this initiative has been embraced with enthusiasm, including by the youth. I am made to understand that at inception in 2008, it had 3,274 participants, whilst to date, we have witnessed an encouraging growth in the number of participants to slightly more than 12,000.
4. Although Government has limited resources and started this with a modest budget of P790,000.00 in prize money, with the feedback, it became necessary that we expand the activities in relation to this event, thus currently the budget for prize money is about P2,5 million. That does not include logistical and other related costs. Nevertheless, mindful of the impact this has had on our population, we found this to be prudent, particularly that it has significantly contributed to the growth of the creative industry.
5. We have witnessed growth, not only in the skills and quality of the products we see, but we now have quite a number of associations that advocate and advance the interests of the arts. It is also not only the youth that have benefitted, even their elders have been participating actively in this regard. In a way, this has also created opportunities for employment.
6. There has also been a growth in diversity of products, such as the increase in designs of traditional wear. There has also been a resuscitation or revival of certain traditional instruments like Segaba and Setinkana that were in the past seen only as a preserve for the elderly, now we see more and more young people using them.
7. I am made to understand that these competitions also contribute meaningfully to the aspect of cultural diplomacy and tourism. Those that get podium positions at national level are sometimes accorded international exposure through participation at international expositions or performing at the Botswana Day abroad in collaboration with our Diplomatic Missions. This is indeed commendable.
8. As I conclude, let me thank you all for your active participation and making this and previous occasions a success.
9. Finally, I wish to congratulate all those who participated in these competitions. Those who did not make it to the podium, do not despair, try again and better luck next time. I believe that we are all winners, we have enriched this country through showing the diversity of our culture. I thank you all for your attention. Pula!
