The Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE) is set to organise a national kids cultural competition through the support of ECCO International.

The purpose of the competition is to empower children and youths to create their own path, regardless of gender, disability, ethnicity, social background and religion. This is premised on the belief that a more peaceful world is anchored on the power of cross cultural dialogue, understanding, respect and acknowledgement of own and other cultures.

The programme wishes to inspire children and youth for a globalised world and as well hopes to enable them to live constructively in responsible communities, tolerant, culturally diverse and rapidly changing global society. This will be done through a unique and cutting-edge model of cultural education, creative learning and social engagement.

Mam Tamsir Njie, the principal education officer and head of School Broadcasting Unit, MoBSE, who is also the chairperson of the Technical Committee instituted to oversee the logistical arrangements for the competition disclosed that the preliminary round of the competition will kick-off at the Region One Education Directorate, on the 19th and 20th April 2012.

After Regions One and Two, Njie stated, Region Five would be the next to participate in the competition. “All participating schools will be expected to sing the National Anthem in addition to staging a song or a play. They will not be allowed to have backup from outside,” he added.

Njie went on to explain that all plays must be premised on a relevant Gambian cultural theme. “Judges will be selected by the technical committee and hopefully, the very talented children will emerge in the competition. So also, presentations in the competition should be in English and each school will be allocated 15 minutes to stage their performance,” he further stated.