From 13 to 15 May 2011 the German Embassy and the National Museums of Kenya in collaboration with various organisations from the local community (MoSaReTu etc.) and partners from the economic sector will once again team up for the 4th edition of the Lake Turkana Festival on the South-Eastern shores of the „Jade Lake“,also konwn as Lake Turkana. The project is based on a proposal, which the local community of Loiyangalani introduced to the German Embassy back in 2008, when the Festival was held for the first time. The main purpose was – and still is – to overcome tribalism in the region and to promote peace and reconciliation among the local communities around Lake Turkana by giving them an opportunity for cross-cultural cooperation and exchange, both in the preparation and in the course of the Festival. During the three days Festival, representatives of the
Rendille, El Molo, Pokot, Samburu, Turkana, Gabbra, Dassanech and Borana
will present their respective customs and living conditions, spectacular traditional costumes, arts and crafts, dances and music to each other and to visitors. Combined with the stunning geographical characteristics and the very limited general knowledge on the Lake Turkana region, the presentation of the cultural traditions makes the Festival a unique and fascinating experience for Kenyans as well as for Expatriates.
This year, to a larger extent than in the past years, the Festival will focus on securing sustainable development – not only in the cultural but also in the economic and environmental fields. Under the Agenda 2030, the Lake Turkana region will gain importance and it will open up to investors as well as to tourists. The Lake Turkana Wind Power Project (LTWP) is one of the first steps in this direction and more projects are planned to follow. In the environmental sector, the challenge of water scarcity and the need for efficient use of natural resources will become increasingly relevant for inhabitants of the Lake Turkana region as well as for investors. In order to raise awareness on these issues and ideally to tackle them, before they even come up, partners from the private sector as well as from the development cooperation sector will join forces with the German Embassy and Kenyan institutions like the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) as well as the local Kenyan authorities in this year’s Festival. As an example for activities in this regard, a “Resource Use Assessment” workshop with and for the local community and a corresponding presentation of results should be mentioned.
In a nutshell, the Festival gives the chance to explore this culturally and geographically unique region and to promote environmental and economical sustainable development.
