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 Later an old man played tunes from a traditional instrument Segaba. Addressing the audience, Pheto said that UNESCO commemorated the day to mark a decade of cultural development from 1988 to 1998.He said that the day which was commemorated worldwide is meant to remind people about the important role culture plays in maintaining social and economic development. He said that since 1998, there have been different themes for the celebrations in Botswana. This year’s theme is “Culture and Democracy”. Pheto urged those who had strong knowledge of cultural norms and practises to share them with other people. He said that youth empowerment must be implemented because the youth are not future leaders but leaders of today. He said the youth can help diversify different cultures as they have the ability to understand easily and quickly. He however said that the youth can fall victim to wrong information that can lead them to undermine other peoples’ cultures or fear cultures they are not used to. He said that the problem of undermining cultures can only be defeated by giving the youth positions of responsibility and decision making in both government and NGOs. Pheto advised the youth to be proud of their culture; to promote their cultures as well as respect other peoples’ cultures. He added that in a multi-cultural country like Botswana, people can learn a lot of things from others. Pheto said that the Department of Culture and Youth which was established in 2001 has achieved a lot but still needs support from members of the public. Dressed in traditional attire, Nominated MP Shirley Segokgo said that modernisation was causing great confusion and therefore it is important for people to always remember their culture. She said that it was important to merge culture and politics. She added that conserving culture is a major challenge facing Batswana.
During the Cultural Day celebrations, there were traditional utensils on display like clay pots, calabashes, maselo and baskets. Moeding College traditional dance group performed at the event. A crew of men from Ramotswa entertained the crowd with sweet tunes from traditional pipes (ditlhaka). The menu was replete with traditional foods of bogobe, morogo, phane and serobe.
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