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EDZAI ISU Trust has again managed to rally seasoned and aspiring poets as well as established human rights arts organisations from six of the country’s 10 provinces for the second edition of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Festival.
A Zambian group is also expected to be part of the “exciting and empowering” online event slated for December 10 and 11, 2020. The festival is in commemoration of Human Rights Day.
It will feature powerful poetry and plays from both seasoned and young artists as well as discussions on arts and human rights. Among the seasoned poets will be Mutumwapavi, Da Voice, Zhinga Tee and Manikongo.
“The physical limitations imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic have not impeded us from hosting the second edition of this crucial rallying point in human rights promotion,” said Tafadzwa Muzondo, the founder of the festival. “Instead of being discouraged by the physical restrictions, we have been encouraged by the virtual possibilities of synergising with human rights artists from outside Harare.
“This has been made possible partly by the generous support by Hivos through the African Crossroads Community Resilience Fund which complemented the dedication of an enthusiastic festival team.”
Muzondo said unlike the first edition, which had Harare artists only, the 2020 event features renowned human rights arts entities from across Zimbabwe and even abroad. Among these are Victory Siyanqoba (Bulawayo), Berina Community Arts (Mashonaland East), Shangano Art Trust (Matabeleland North), Baptism of Fire (Mashonaland West), (Bambelela Arts Ensemble (Bulawayo), Jahunda Community Arts (Matabeleland South) and Yezi Arts from Zambia.
ZHRF 2020 (Online) strongly buttresses the 2020 theme for Human Rights Day, which is “Recover Better – Stand Up for Human Rights, which relates to the Covid-19 pandemic and focuses on the need to build back better by ensuring human rights are central to recovery efforts. Commenting on the partnership with EDZAI ISU Trust in this year’s edition of ZHRF (Online), Witness Tavarwisa, the director of Bambelela Arts Ensemble, a seasoned community development and human rights arts organisation from Bulawayo, said: “We do appreciate this partnership because it shows how the creatives are committed on holistically tackling the Human Rights issues.
“This edition of the festival means a lot for us as it will give us yet another opportunity to spread the human rights gospel to new audiences while also attracting new ones to the festival. “We also acknowledge that the virtual festival came at the right time as we are adapting to the new normal under Covid-19 regulations which saw a manifestation of a lot of human rights violations especially during the lockdown period.”
Tavarwisa said the festival would go a long way in healing the wounds of survivors of all forms of human rights abuses across the board. “Above all it solidifies our efforts of facilitating community development through our creative collaboration.”
The festival is the brainchild of award-winning transformative artists, Muzondo, who is famed for critical plays like No Voice No Choice. The first edition of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Festival was held in December 2019 at Theatre pa Bridge in Highfield. Nhau/Indaba
