CULTURE AND TOURISM PLAN – By Dr. Ifedi Okwenna(Part 1)

Anambra State has a rich culture and prominent tourist locations which are
yet untapped and therefore undeveloped. These, if well harnessed, can improve the economic situations of the resident of the State.
Our cultural heritage includes crafts, festivals, museums and monuments,
festivals and traditions, arts food and natural medicine. These can be harnessed for cultural tourism.

It is important that Anambra State taps into cultural tourism and leverage
on the high-profile names in Nigerian history who hail from Anambra State
to build museums in their honour.
Our strategy will be to:
a. Leverage on our culture to develop Cultural Tourism
b. Aggregate our history, heritage and people to build notable museums and monuments
c. Spread Tourism to every corner of the State
d. Promote Cultural Tourism as a commercial enterprise
e. Create awareness of the potentials of an area with a classification of both material and intangible heritage.
f. Secure culture and tourism franchise from all over the world to
promote local tourism.
g. Promote our culture and heritage through Communication and
Marketing.

To achieve this, Government shall create the Anambra State Commission for Culture and Tourism for the development, management and advancement of Cultural Tourism and for Commercialization of her activities into a profit-making agency of
Government.
The Commission will create:
a Anambra State Troupes and dancers to harness our dancing culture.
b. Anambra Choir and Orchestral, for live performances at State events, interdenominational services, weddings, theater performance etc.for a fee.
c. Anambra Museum and Monuments, for development and management of Museums and Monuments across
the State including Igbo Ukwu Museum. They are to Identify structures and people of historic importance, historical artifacts and historical endowments, upgrade, rebuild and declare such as heritage sites and museums. Places like Nnamdi Azikiwe’s
and Emeka Ojukwu’s Mausoleum, Chinua Achebe’s Home,
Olaudah Equiano’s birthplace, Ben
Enweonwu’s Collections etc. It will include management of major Traditional Palaces, Ancient Church buildings including Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity, Onitsha, Cathedral of All Saints Onitsha, and other similar buildings of historic values.
d. Anambra State Arts and Craft Limited – to aggregate and promote the preservation, exchange and production of old and modern Anambra arts, artifacts, relics, crafts etc.
e. Anambra Tourist Sites, identify, upgrade and promote State Tourists sites including Ogbunike cave etc, and declare new sites, as of Tourist’s value, develop and promote them.
f. Anambra State Theater and Films Unit, organize
theater performances, public enlightenment series to propagate our culture, stories and narratives through theater performances and music.
These will be used to
promote the Anambra brand.

Anambra State Commission for Culture and Tourism, shall create, promote and organize either annually or periodically the following
festivals to promote our culture and heritage, the tourism potentials of our State and to stimulate our economy.
a. Anambra Music and Dance Festival
b. Anambra Cultural Festival
c. Anambra Festival of Food and Natural Medicine.
d. Anambra New Yam Festival
e. Christmas and New year Carnivals.
These festivals will be commercialized and sponsored by corporate organizations, institutions as part of their corporate social responsibility and for promotion and rebranding of the state.

THEATER AND CINEMA
My government shall bring back theater performance and cinema into the social lives of the inhabitants of Anambra State. With the
creation of Anambra State Troupes and dancers, the State Choir and
Orchestra, Anambra State Theatres and Films Unit Limited and with development of theater facilities across the State, there will be weekly organized live performances in many of these theaters and facilities across the State for a fee.

Cinema shows will be back once again as a common feature of our social life. My government will through synergy with the private sector and cinema owners, tap into this highly valuable industry. Our target is
to ultimately use cinemas to project our image to the world, market the Anambra brand, tell our stories, showcase our culture, create employment opportunities and rake in huge revenue for government. (To be concluded in Part 2)

Join us, let’s go to work.
It’s possible.

innovateanambra

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