According to the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Filipe Zau, the commemoration, launched in 1986, is much more than just the memory of a speech at the founding of the governing bodies of the UEA, it is a moment of reflection on the value and importance of culture in the development of the nation.
In an interview with Jornal de Angola, the owner said that the country is multicultural, with several social groups, also known as ethnolinguistic groups, and that the national culture is the reflection of all these expressions within the territorial space.
Zau highlighted Neto's assessment of the role of culture in the formation of national identity, not only in the context of the mixing of customs, languages and artistic expressions, but also as a country that freed itself from the colonial yoke in 1975.
“In the fight for independence we created states, and these must now build nations. This is why National Culture Day is so important: it is an affirmation of the cultural identities that exist in our country, which in turn are subject to a political identity that we call our Angolanness,” he emphasized.
The minister pointed out that this process ultimately leads to both a political identity and a sense of national culture, but that this is something that must be developed through training and education in the spirit of belonging.
The first president is himself an icon of Angolan literature and is considered the country's greatest poet, he mentioned, recalling the Sagrada Esperança poetry collection, which reflects the quest for national autonomy and the affirmation of the cultures of these countries.
He highlighted the concept of endogeneity that emerges from Neto's speech to the UEA and the role of Angolan languages, including Portuguese, which “also belongs to us because we use it and speak it,” Zau said.
“I believe that the interpretation of this speech is to look at traditions, our languages and the need to promote them as a cultural identity, but without losing the sense of modernity,” he added.
Stressing that culture is essential to the development of the individual, he said that as we move forward, National Culture Day should reflect on how we can be educated in a sense of belonging.
“Let us educate ourselves to be different, to live together peacefully with others and to distinguish between what belongs to me and what belongs to another.” Also for ecumenism, in the sense that there are different religions all over the world, who must live together peacefully,” he said.
He added that culture is also important for the country's social well-being and economy through the development of cultural and creative industries.
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