Heritage Week celebrates culture, youth and peace
The Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, in partnership with the Heavenly Culture, World Peace and Restoration of Light (HWPL) Namibia branch, celebrated Heritage Week on 17 and 18 September under the theme ‘Preserving Heritage for the Future Generation’.
The event aimed to promote national identity, youth empowerment and sustainable peace. It brought together cultural groups, education representatives and community members to reflect on Namibia’s diverse traditions and the role of history in shaping the country’s future.
Speaking on the objective of the partnership, HWPL Namibia branch manager Elione Calunga emphasised that preserving cultural heritage goes hand in hand with fostering peace.
"Knowing where we come from is crucial to the kind of future we want to build," Calunga said.
"We truly believe that as we look into our history, we also have to cement our role in the future of the nation. A crucial aspect of our heritage is peace – while we preserve our heritage, we continue keeping it through peace."
Addressing attendees during a surprise visit, education, arts and culture minister Sanet Steenkamp commended the cultural groups and organisers for their dedication to showcasing the authentic Namibian spirit.
"We are warm, we are caring, and we are diverse in our cultures and languages," she noted. "When it comes to being a Namibian, we are unapologetically embracing the values of integrity, warmth, compassion, and care."
Highlighting the scope of the collaboration, Boysen Ngondo, the deputy director responsible for National Heritage and Culture Programmes, said the initiative aimed to engage young Namibians in heritage conservation, peace education, and community involvement.
"It's a two-fold partnership," Ngondo explained. "The young people will be engaged in terms of the social and natural science collections in our museums. We also have a clean-up campaign where young volunteers will help us clean up our cultural institutions, including the Independence Memorial Museum, Owela Museum, and Alte Feste. It's about upkeep and triggering interest from young people in preservation and conservation of heritage."
On the second day of Heritage Week, participants completed a 0.8km walk from the Franco-Namibian Cultural Centre to the Independence Memorial Museum before coming together to hand-paint a large Namibian flag at the National Museum of Namibia.
The participants then gathered for a group photograph and cheered, “One Namibia!” A tourist couple also joined the photo session, adding to the colourful display of unity, culture and national pride.
The clean-up campaign began at the Independence Memorial Museum, with participants divided into three groups to tackle different areas. The campaign targeted three heritage sites: the Independence Memorial Museum, Alte Feste and the National Museum of Namibia.
