Category: Entertainment

The 95th edition of the annual National Music Festivals began on Friday with pomp and funfair at the Dedan Kimathi University of Technology in Nyeri County.

This year’s festivals have attracted more than 130,000 students from public and private schools as well as Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) centres.

Students from colleges, technical training institutes, polytechnics, and universities are also expected to showcase their talents during the annual event, which is taking place under the theme Nurturing Talent for Innovation and Development.

According to the Kenya Music Festival National Executive Committee chairman, Prof. Frederick Ngala, the event is the largest arts and cultural event in the academic calendar and is aimed at not only creating holistic learners in and out of the classroom environment but also providing an avenue for the participants to nurture their talents.

‘The national festivals have been held unfailingly to the benefit of our artists. The festivals promote appreciation of our rich cultural heritage found in our communities,’ said Prof. Ngala.

The festivals have been held annually since 1928, with the exception of 2020 and 2021, when the event was suspended due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Prof. Ngala noted that the country had witnessed exponential growth in the number of participants as well as competition categories for adjudication.

‘We begin at the sub-county level, then move to the county, the regional, and the national levels.’ On average, we have engaged close to 3 million people this year at the sub-county level. The participation is overwhelming with the representation of students from the different parts of the country, where we even have pre-primary pupils from all the way to university,’ he said.

The first ones to set the 12-day festival in motion were pupils from Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) and pre-primary schools. Under their own choice of western-style singing games for pre-primary schools, Karatina DEB Primary scooped position one after garnering 89 points.

The second position was scooped up by Carol Academy from the Rift Valley Region. St. Paul’s Education Centre from Nyanza and Holy Innocent Parochial Centre from Kakamega tied for third place after scoring 86 points in their presentations.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX and Tesla who bought Twitter a year ago – has announced that he will be changing the company’s logo from the signature blue bird the world has come to know for more than 10 years – to an ominous white X on a black background.

The reason for this, according to The New York Times, is that Musk wants to create an “everything app” with his X which takes over from Twitter. The South African-born millionaire understands the power behind branding.

Musk bought Twitter last year for 44 billion US Dollars, but Twitter’s value has dropped to a mere 15 billion USD as of 2023; and while the app has primarily been used for sharing news – Musk now wants it to be an “everything app similar to the Chinese app, WeChat which would allow users to even do monetary transactions, send messages and streaming. It will effectively become a marketplace of services.

In short, Twitter has struggled financially and Musk feels that one of the ways to save it, is to give it a new face. An X which seems also to be a personalized letter and symbol as Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX has an X in it obviously, but companies like Microsoft already own the intellectual property rights to the letter X and this could have legal implications too for Elon Musk.

That brings me to the crux of the issue I want to address here: the face of the oldest church in Cameroon ie the Cameroon Baptist Convention.

There is no doubt that when the early Baptist missionaries set foot on Cameroonian shores, branding was surely not one of their preoccupations. But as the church that they established in the 1890s grew over the years, transitioning from the Cameroon Baptist Mission (CBM) in the 1950s to the Cameroon Baptist Convention (CBC), it was clear that the denomination already understood the power behind how an organization brands itself. While in the 1950s, the change of the name from CBM to CBC reflected a change of leadership from White, Western missionaries to Cameroonians, it is also very important that more than half a century of being led by Cameroonians, that the CBC ought to appropriately distinguish itself.

It doesn’t help that in one denomination, there are dozens of logos – which is at odds with the motto of the denomination One Lord, One Faith and One Baptism (taken from Ephesians 4:5-7). It doesn’t help (in fact it is frustrating and frankly confusing), that Cameroon’s oldest denomination has a logo for each department or unit. For example, the signature logo of the CBC is usually a bird (dove, and never mind the uncanny similarity to Twitter) with a tiny tweak in its beak over a green background (the main CBC colour) and a cross. But then various departments have their own individual logos again. The Boy’s Brigade, the Youth and Student’s Department has its logo; the Women’s Department has another logo, the CBC Health Services has its own logo, the Finance Department and Education Departments etc each have a logo of their own! On top of all this, they each have individual mission statements again!

This multiplicity of logos and mission statements could either be interpreted on several fronts: disunity (which would contradict the motto of One Lord, One Faith and One Baptism) or it could be seen as sheer confusion.

So in short, the solution one can proffer to this is that the leadership of the CBC (which I am a proud member of), should consider getting one logo and mission statement that will reflect its mandate and desire to use education, health care and other social means to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This would not be the first time the Cameroon Baptist Convention has adopted such changes in how it brands itself (or at least how certain positions are branded in the denomination). This was seen a few years ago when the position of General Secretary – the Church’s highest-ranking office – was renamed Executive President (EP) because of confusion by non-Baptists who often thought that the General Secretary was some kind of minute role. The Ghana Baptist Convention follows this same model with an EP.

Getting one logo and mission statement will help set the CBC apart from some of the more Pentecostal-leaning churches that crop up today and are often masquerading as if they are under the CBC with a good case being the more charismatic Congregations Baptiste du Cameroun which have in the past simply branded themselves as CBC and been misunderstood as Cameroon Baptist Convention.

Once the CBC institutes a new logo and mission statement, this new logo should be what appears on all signboards at CBC schools, hospitals, churches and on all official documents issued by various CBC departments etc and this will help cement the one-ness of the CBC and people will start taking us seriously.

The North American Baptist Conference (NABC) which continues to maintain a long partnership with the Cameroon Baptist Convention even rebranded itself in the early 2000s from the NABC to simply North American Baptists Inc (NAB), complete with a new logo.

The CBC now has a Communication Department of well-trained journalists and communications experts who can liaise with the leadership of the church to come up with a unified and harmonized logo that will reflect the CBC as a church that has as mandate, the duty to heal, preach and minister the Gospel holistically.

Our sister denomination, the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC) are not without their own short-comings but they are unified in their logo. The PCC has one logo and this leaves no room for confusion as far as it concerns the face of their church.

So as Twitter rebrands itself just barely 1 year under a new owner, the CBC and its executive or decision-making body should think of having one logo and one mission statement that will set the CBC as the leader that it is in Cameroon and distinguish their theologically-sound teachings from the sea of heresy whose tide is increasing by the day in Cameroon.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

Maasai cultural dances and Folk Songs champions made it to the 95th edition finals of the national music festival which will be held on 12th up to 22nd August this year at Dedan Kimathi University of Science and Technology in Nyeri County.

Talek Boys High school crowned the champions of 2023 Maasai dance class 818J as the great finale of the Music festival came to an end at Maasai Mara University.

Four schools out of over 25 participants who performed the Maasai cultural dance qualified to national levels with a very high competition of one-point difference.

Talek Boys High School emerged position one under the class 818J with a mark of 91% followed by Najile High school from Kajiado County with 90%, Maralal High School from Samburu County took position three with 89% and Narok High School closed the best four with 88% mark.

Talek Boys for the first time making it to national level is a great performance and efforts from learners and they ensured that they will be crowned National champions this year in Maasai dance.

This is the first time Talek Boys High school has participated in a regional music festival, the last time they reach county level, therefore, it is commitment from teachers, and trainers who have contributed to the win.

George Sandera, music teacher, also a trainee, said it’s a great performance this year for Talek boys’ high school since they have never reached regional level, hence a great improvement for them.

‘We’re going back to school today and practicing more and correcting our mistakes before we proceed to Nationals next month. We will score more points and will be crowned the national champions as well’ said Sandera.

The four schools booked their place at a coveted event after emerging the 2023 Maasai dance winners in the Rift Valley region.

The Maasai folk songs were also completed the day before having four schools who made it to the national level.

Folk songs are the most loved Maasai cultural song as it has moral lessons and fantastic styles of showcasing Maasai culture.

Oloosiyio Secondary school in Kajiado County emerged the regional champions of folk song with 93% which was commented to be of higher, adjudicators mentioned them to have planned well and meet the expectations.

The champions showed their excitement and were hopeful of retaining their championship at national level.

Ololulunga Boys High School comes in second position in folk song with 92% behind one-point Maasai Girls High School Which got 91% and Narok Boys once again closed the best four with 90%.

All those who qualified were urged by the adjudication team to improve their minor mistakes to perfect their competition at national level.

The adjudication team advises the participants and trainers to be keen on enough and unique costumes as it will earn them marks.

The 95th edition of the Rift Valley Music Festival has come to an end, with winners awarded trophies and certificates.

Source: Kenya News Agency

All is set for the Inaugural Transmara Classic Narok girl talent search athletics to be held Tomorrow at Kilgoris DEB Primary School in Kilgoris town of Narok County.

According to event organizer Becky Kogeluk, more than 1,500 young athletes between the age of 13-16 years from primary school around Kilgoris are expected to compete in the two-day competition aimed at identifying young talent in the sport.

Kogeluk, from Gigiz Sports management Limited, disclosed that athletes will battle out for honours in 100, 200, 400, 800, 1500 and 3,000 meters races.

Apart from track and field activities, the Maasai will also compete in traditional sports such as Rungu throwing and jumping which is part of the Maa culture.

The event organizer said the event’s objective is to empower the Narok girl to ascend to the global map of athletics like the rest of the communities.

The debut event is drawing participants from the local schools and training camps from the region.

‘Once we get the fine athletes, we will be able to introduce and give them further training in the camps in places like Iten and its environs. We want them to have a feel of places where our world beaters have trained,’ said the organizer.

Gigiz director Betty Rono while lauding the sponsors and partners to the event said the race winners will be awarded cash prizes by the Narok county government.

‘Being our first event, we are delighted that the county government and the local leadership has embraced it and we are certain this event will grow to the next level.’ Said Rono

800M world record holder David Rudisha,Olympic 800M champion Mary Moraa and two times 800M commonwealth champion Wycliffe Kinyamal are expected to attend the race.

The Transmara region has produced constellation of memorable of names in the world of athletics like former 800m Billy Konchellah, his younger brother the late Patrick Konchellah, who is also the brainchild of the event ,1968 Mexico Olympics, silver medalist, Daniel Rudisha and his son David Lekuta Rudisha, who is now the World 800 M record holder.

The event will be graced by Narok governor Patrick ole Ntutu, Tourism PS John Ololtuaa, Kilgoris MP Julius Sunkuli among other top dignitaries

The race coincides with migration of one million wildebeest to the neighboring Serengeti National Park in Tanzania

The event organizers pointed out the need to hold activities in the region to give visitors to Masai Mara an opportunity for other experiences away from the wildebeest migration.

Maasai Mara National Reserve is one of Africa’s best known wildlife sanctuaries, a staggering 1,530 square Kilometres being home to a vast variety of wildlife.

Mara the home of Kenya`s community Maasai popularly known as Maa are well known for preserving their culture, this provides a glimpse of Africa.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) has dominated the Rift Valley Regional Music Festival that is being held at Maasai Mara University in Narok County.

Music festivals come at a time when the country is in the process of implementing the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) in schools where learners are performing in areas such as music, dance, film and theatre.

The event showcased the immense talent of young learners from across the Rift Valley region while highlighting the importance of arts education within the framework of the CBC learning process.

Under the CBC, the focus is shifted from rote memorization to the development of practical skills, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving abilities, among other key areas in school.

By incorporating music festivals into the curriculum, this aimed at providing students with a hands-on opportunity to apply their knowledge and talents in a real-world setting, fostering a holistic approach to education.

The participating schools presented a wide range of musical performances, including choral singing, traditional folk songs, modern compositions, instrumental recitals, and many others.

Each performance was meticulously evaluated by a panel of expert judges who assessed the students based on the CBC’s competency domains, such as communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, and cultural appreciation.

Lawrence Kaburu, Regional Quality Assurance Officer, emphasised the importance of music and the arts in enhancing students’ overall development.

He stated, ‘Through music and artistic expression, we are nurturing the talent and creativity of our future leaders. CBC provides a platform to identify and nurture individual skills, ultimately preparing students for a rapidly changing world.’

According to Danson Mwanje, a trainer at St. Bridges Academy in Elgeyo Marakwet County, the integration of music festivals into the CBC not only provides students with a platform for self-expression but also promotes cultural diversity and inclusivity.

‘By incorporating traditional music and dances, students gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of their heritage, fostering a sense of pride and identity,’ Mwanje added.

Moreover, the Regional Music Festivals acted as a networking opportunity for teachers and education professionals to exchange ideas and experiences on implementing the CBC effectively.

It allows learners to learn from one another and explore innovative teaching methodologies to engage students and optimise learning outcomes.

The success of the Music Festivals serves as a testament to the growing recognition of the importance of arts education within the CBC framework.

It also highlights the commitment of educational institutions to create a well-rounded learning environment that nurtures the talents and abilities of every student while preparing them for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.

Source: Kenya News Agency