Highlights from the Somali Heritage Week 2018

Event report

The world is becoming increasingly diverse and includes people of many religions, languages, economic groups, and other cultural groups.It is now clear that in order to build communities that are successful at improving conditions and resolving problems, we need to understand and appreciate different cultures, establish relationships with people from cultures other than our own, and build strong alliances with different cultural groups. With this is mind, Awjama Cultural Centre in Nairobi, is working towards demystifying the negative perception that people have over the Somali community. Supported by the Heinrich Boell Foundation and coordinated by Awjama Cultural Centre, the Somali Heritage Week has become a popular cultural festival in Nairobi, Kenya and identified with the Heinrich Boell Foundation.

Story telling during the 2018 Somali Heritage Week
Teaser Image Caption
Photo: Awjama Cultural Centre

The world is becoming increasingly diverse and includes people of many religions, languages, economic groups, and other cultural groups.

It is now clear that in order to build successful communities ommunities, we need to understand and appreciate different cultures, establish relationships with people from cultures other than our own, and build strong alliances with different cultural groups.

With this is mind, Awjama Cultural Centre in Nairobi, is working towards demystifying the negative perception that people have over the Somali community. Supported by the Heinrich Boell Foundation and coordinated by Awjama Cultural Centre, the Somali Heritage Week has become a popular cultural festival in Nairobi, Kenya.

This year’s event emphasized the value of connectivity in the society in order to build positive connections among Kenyan communities through art and culture. The festival composed of various activities including: traditional Somali dances, storytelling, panel discussions, book fair, a concert, live art exhibitions, arts and crafts booths and public forums and debates that revolved around:

Education crisis in North Eastern Kenya;

• Challenges faced by youth and people with special needs;

• A debate on Somali customary law and

• The role of Somali Literature in Connecting Communities.

This years event was held on the second week of October at the Kenya National Theater.

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