MBABANE – The Arterial Network Swaziland hosted an arts competition in the four regions of the country, where in each region, two tinkhundla centres competed.
These tinkhundla centres are Dvokodvweni against Siphofaneni in the Lubombo Region, Kwaluseni against Mafutseni in the Manzini Region, Nkwene against Zombodze Emuva in the Shiselweni Region and lastly Siphocosini against Nkhaba in the Hhohho Region. These constituencies were identified to implement a Youth and Women Empowerment (YES) Arts and Culture Exhibition Project, which it started in January this year and concluded with the competitions.
The event attracted local community members who came to witness individuals and group artists displaying the creativity in different arts, including music, dance, poetry, drama, visual crafts and craft done by artists residing under these tinkhundla centres.
In each of the above competitions, group prizes that were shared in different regions totalled E3 000 and individual prize shared totalled E1 500. The purpose of the project is not only to encourage and develop the talent among youth and women in these communities.
The project targets women and youth in the creative sector as the main drivers of change in the society.
The project is designed to strengthen the artistic and cultural expression capacities of women and youth, including disadvantaged groups either in terms of participating or having their issues raised.
This may include persons with disabilities and members of the LGBTQI+ community in rural and urban areas to promote their awareness of their human rights, inclusion, participation and economic empowerment.
The project aims at providing a platform for women and young people at community and regional levels to express their ideas, priorities and vision through art and cultural activities.
The YES Arts and Culture Exhibition Project started with the introduction of the idea to both tinkhundla gatekeepers and the identification of artists, followed by training of artists to prepare them for showcasing performances and craft at inkhundla level, then the showcasing of talents, which took place in eight tinkhundla centres. The YES Arts and Culture exhibition project has been made possible with funding from the European Union that has partnered with COSPE Eswatini, Gcama Mfati, Luvatsi, Swaziland Rural Women Assembly and Kwakha Indvodza, to implement the Youth and Women Empowerment Project.
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