Culture, arts and heritage Principal Secretary Ummi Bashir says the government is adopting technology as it seeks to empower economically marginalized populations by tapping into opportunities presented by the country’s natural resources.
According to Ummi, the government under the state department of culture, the arts and heritage has prioritized monetization of culture and heritage through development of innovative solutions.
The PS says the plan which includes M-shanga, an initiative meant to help capacity build pastoralist communities who engage in beadwork as well as the Sanaa app, an e-commerce platform where you can sell and purchase products from wherever location you are, have helped people who were erstwhile disadvantaged.
“These people have tremendous talent and potential and want to put money in their pockets. We take them for capacity building sessions and expose them to available markets.” Says Ummi.
She says the national government is continually formulating policies and legislations that would support county governments through capacity building and guidance on how to support cultural activities in their respective regions.
“We have the culture and the Kiswahili Bills which are currently before parliament. As a national government, we strongly support what county governments are doing especially in celebrating cultural festivities.” Noted the PS.
She says the natural products industry initiative under the national museums of Kenya is documenting and digitizing indigenous herbs and tree species across the country in an effort to safeguard the critical natural resource.
