MBABANE – The Miss Cultural Heritage Top 20 has been revealed following a wellness walk on October 1.
All applications were handled in one place during the Eswatini College of Theology Wellness Day in Ezulwini, where they aligned their elimination process with the wellness programme, after a wellness walk. The contestants were questioned about their knowledge of Eswatini culture, such as articulation of siSwati language.
Mxolisi Dlamini, the Communications Officer at Eswatini National Council of Arts and Culture, said for this year, they decided to align this elimination with wellness prior to the rigorous rounds.
The Eswatini National Council of Arts and Culture (ENCAC) has now announced the official top 20 contestants. The competition aims to preserve and promote Eswatini’s culture by recruiting young women from all four regions to serve as cultural ambassadors. Through the Miss Cultural Heritage pageant, the council continues its work under the Eswatini National Arts and Culture Policy.
Current Miss Culture, Yoliswa Manana, has already shown what the pageant can achieve. Under her leadership it launched the Ligcebesha Making Classes. Young women who took part now earn an income by making ligcebesha. Manana said the classes turn ordinary young girls into entrepreneurs and help fight unemployment. She hopes ENCAC would keep expanding the project so more girls can benefit.
ENCAC Chief Executive Officer Stanley Dlamini , echoed Manana’s sentiments, noting that the pageant has made a significant contribution to the preservation of culture.
“The Miss Cultural Heritage Pageant greatly aligns with the mandate of the council; our culture continues to be marketed with respect and discipline. I am happy to see the growth of this pageant, it has now created entrepreneurs in the regions through its recent project known as Ligcebesha Making Classes, to see young women from all the regions of the kingdom benefit from the pageant tells us that more programmes such as these should be implemented.
“As we speak, the Miss Cultural Heritage Pageant is contributing to the fight against unemployment in the kingdom because young women can put bread on the table and can sustain themselves,” Dlamini said.
Voting for Miss Cultural Heritage is now open on Moja Ticket.
HHOHHO REGION
Lubombo Region
Manzini Region
