RUNDU - Professor Gilbert Likando, the Assistant Pro - Vice Chancellor at Rundu Campus says as individuals the level of our education should not be an excuse for us to abandon our cultures but suggests education should be harnessed a tool to strengthen our cultural identities.

Likando made the remarks in his welcoming speech during the Unam Cultural Festival held at Rundu Campus on Thursday, read on his behalf by Charity Ausiku, a lecturer at the same campus.
Likando noted that the University of Namibia is trying to narrow the gap between culture and education through platforms like the annual Unam Cultural Festival.

“I’m humbled to stand before you and welcome you to the official opening of the University of Namibia 2018 cultural festival at Rundu Campus, this is an annual calendarised activity at our prestigious institution, which signifies the fact that Unam values the importance of a holistic approach to education,” Likando stated in the statement.

Likando noted that some people perceive universities as institutions that are established to promote academic knowledge only and he said this is not the case with the University of Namibia as they value Namibia’s beautiful diverse cultures, hence its incorporations in the university’s calendar of activities.

“The importance of culture cannot be overemphasised because it is an indispensable aspect of our identity. You are who you are because of your culture, culture is embedded in our practices, behaviour or conduct, our language, our names, our dance and music, our food and so on, so everything about us is attached to our culture,” he said.

“You’d agree with me that our youths are losing their cultural identity due to modernisation. However, we are encouraged to preserve the positive aspects of our culture, there are some bad aspects of our culture and we are encouraged to preserve the good and positive aspects of our culture due to the fact that it is an essential component of our livelihood,” he added.

Likando concluded by saying, “As individuals, we are the custodians of our culture and we are all expected to embrace our cultural heritage, if we lose our culture we run a risk of losing our identity. “Our cultures are all equal, no culture is above the other.”

Rundu Unam Campus had a lot of activities lined up, from 15 to 18 August, invited guests, the Rundu Campus community and members of the public witnessed this year’s fully packed programme with different cultures represented during the festival, cultural dance activities were on the roll and many acts were on to entertain the
guests.