The 5th Annual Lukenya Cultural Week, 2022

Culture is a people’s way of life, food, clothing, language, festivities etc. The Lukenya University fraternity that draws its membership from the 47 counties and beyond came together from 14^th-19^th March 2022 for the purposes of sharing, learning, competing as well as celebrating their different cultural trends.

The theme of this year’s event was; AUGMENTATION OF CULTURE AND ACADEMICS.

Background to the Lukenya University Cultural Festival

The Lukenya University cultural festivals- commonly known as, The Lukenya Culfest, have been running since 2018. Each year, the festival gets better, more encompassing as well as very captivating.

Previous cultural festivals held in the University are as follows;

2018. 1^st Culture week festival was held in March 2018.
2019. The 2^nd Cultural week festivals were held in March, between Monday 18^th and Saturday 23^rd The theme for the event that year was; Embracing cultural diversity and education.
2020. The third festival was held between March 2^nd and March 7^th The theme for that festival was, Promoting peace and Cohesion through Culture.
2021. The fourth cultural event festival ran from Monday, March 15^th – Saturday March 20^th, 2021 and the theme was, Showcasing talent and promoting cultural heritage.
2022. This year’s cultural event ran from Monday 14^th to Saturday 19^th, march 2022. The theme was, Augmentation of culture and academics.

As a tradition, the events of this year’s cultural event were built on previous experiences and events that made the participation livelier and larger.

The culmination of this year’s events was, The Kasanga Mulwa Marathon-3^rd Edition, a host of sporting activities and an evening to remember dotted with poetry, music, dance and the pageantry.

Objectives of the culture week

The culture week committee- chaired by Ms. Jael Birgen worked to ensure the festival ran on the principles of its objectives which are;

1. To promote talent in diversity throughout the University and beyond.
2. To conserve the environment and create awareness.
3. To Preserve culture and respect divergent cultural aspects.
4. To impart knowledge through sharing of cultural skills from across the country and beyond.

The events calendar

The cultural event that runs throughout the week started on Monday, March 14^th and ended on Saturday, March 19^th 2022. Each day of the week had its own uniqueness with different activities lined up for the day. The calendar for the week’s event is as shown below;

All 730 participants were awarded certificates. All teams were awarded some cash tokens in appreciation of their efforts in making the ceremony a success.

The committee plans to raise funds in advance and make the event bigger and invite more participants in the quest of making it an international event.

Guests

The chief Guest was Mr. George Litswa– Principal Administrative Officer- Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage. Other guests included Mr. Julius Muindi who is the Director Kamba cultural Centre and museum. The chief guest explained the importance of cultural activities in institutions of learning of which he said provided cohesion, knowledge and entertainment. He said the ministry would always support such initiatives and be part of them whenever called upon.

The host of the event Professor Constantine Nyamboga praised the spirit of inclusiveness exhibited by the students while showcasing their cultural prowess. The occasion was also attended by the Deputy Vice Chancellor- Academics and Student Affairs, Dr. Karanja Peter, deans, heads of departments, directors as well as staff members-both teaching and support.

Thank you.

Kemoli Mac
Office of the Dean of Students

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