Pretoria - Arts and Culture Deputy Minister Rejoice Mabudafhasi will today participate in Freedom Day celebrations at the South African Embassy in Doha, Qatar.
The Deputy Minister is on a tour of duty on an invitation from the embassy to participate during the Freedom Day celebrations and to lay the groundwork for further cultural engagements with her Qatari counterparts.
“The South African Department of Arts and Culture and its Qatari counterpart have finalised the Memorandum of Agreement on Arts, Culture and Heritage to be signed soon,” Deputy Minister Mabudafhasi said.
She said the Memorandum of Agreement seeks to consolidate and strengthen the ties of friendship and of reciprocal understanding between citizens of the two countries.
Deputy Minister Mabudafhasi said this year marks 22 years since the demise of the apartheid regime in and the birth of the democratic South Africa.
The Department of Arts and Culture’s participation during the Freedom Day celebrations in Qatar also served as a platform to showcase South African dance and music.
The initiative is in line with the department’s objective of creating opportunities and exploring markets for South African culture and products in the Middle East region.
“It is for this reason that we brought the Garage Dance Ensemble from O’okiep in the Northern Cape to participate during the Freedom Day celebrations.
“This group was created for the empowerment of young people through performance and teaching that instils a sense of personal pride, discipline, responsibility and a ‘can do’ attitude, which in turn will open them to new possibilities in life,” Deputy Minister Mabudafhasi said.
The Garage Dance Ensemble is a group of young people from a rural and underprivileged community.
The month of April is dedicated to Freedom Day, which will be celebrated on 27 April. – SAnews.gov.za
