Africa-Press – Uganda. The government through the Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development has asked the public to always defend and promote their culture.
Speaking at the 6th Mashiriki Literary and Cultural Studies Conference at Makerere University on August 24, Mr Bernard Mujuni, the commissioner of equity and rights at the ministry, said cultural identities are being lost due to the influence and adoption of Western values.
“The African identity is threatened with a lot of interruptions. We must do our job to defend our heritage. We need to codify our identity, if we don’t do it, someone else will do it with a different agenda,” Mr Mujuni said.
Dr Edgar Nabutanyi, the Makerere University head of the Literature department, said African traditional families have disintegrated because of the pressure of modernity.
“We have to get back to our languages. Families should stop using English as a tool of communication. They should be more intentional in using their mother tongue because our wisdom and knowledge are stored in our languages,” he said.
He also urged artists and writers to be more creative and intentional in their content by using their literature to educate the citizens.
Background
The 6th Mashariki three-day conference seeks to motivate dialogue between the region’s scholars and stakeholders across the continent and beyond, who are interested in the Eastern African region, its scholarship and knowledge production.
The conference was first held in 2013 at the University of Nairobi Kenya.
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