Bertoua get set for the 2018 National Arts and Culture Festival
Prior to the grand cultural event on 16-22 July 2018, preparation reach high gear in the East regional capital of Bertoua as all involved are leaving no stone unturned to make the event a total success.
Cynthia EFOPA
The town of Bertoua is in total effervescence as the town prepares to host the 2018 edition of the National Arts and Culture Festival that has been put under the patronage of the Head of State, President Paul Biya. The inhabitants of the town are busy beautifying the area, fresh paintings here and there, construction of important structures and serious cleaning up, this to attract visitors who will not only use the occasion to witnessed the rich cultural heritage but will also discover the rich touristic potentials of Cameroon. Walking through the town, banners and signboards carrying messages of the National Arts and Culture Festival could be seen.
At the different construction sites that were visited by the Minister of Arts and Culture, Mouelle Kombi and his delegation, work was on a good footing and the contractors assured the visiting delegation of the minister that all will be set before the D-Day. The hymn of the festival had already been composed and it is coined in the Baka dialect “Doh mou” which signifies welcome to the 2018 Festival of Arts and Culture. The monument to be constructed to that effect is almost complete. One of the commissaries of the cultural festival, Mbombok Malet ma Njami Mal Njam declared that the monument called National Symphony is a representation of the four main cultural heritage of Cameroon; the fang-beti, grass-fields, Sawa-bassa and Sudano-Sahel.
According to the commissary, the monument is to demonstrate that each of the cultural heritage of Cameroon contributes to the national identity, national integration and national unity the country enjoys. As for the different traditional shows, the traditional leaders of the East region are in a serious working session to make sure they impress their visitors with a spectacle that is of the magnitude of the event. To them, it is an opportunity to bring to the forefront some of the traditional practices of the East region which have the tendency to be left at the background. The event that will run from the 16-22 July 2018 will be presided at by the Prime Minister, Head of Government Philemon Yang, representing the Head of State.
