Frederick Philander
2 May 2008
Windhoek — The Deputy Minister of Information, Communication and Technology on Saturday encouraged Namibians to show more respect and appreciation for the country's artists.
Rafael Dinyando was the keynote speaker at the annual World Intellectual Property Day celebrations in the capital.
Some 60 artists on Saturday morning marched down Independence Avenue to commemorate the day in the Zoo Park with speeches and musical performances by local musicians.
"This day is rapidly growing in popularity the world over because since its launch eight years ago increasing numbers of governments and organisations have been joining the annual celebrations on April 26," Dinyando said.
In his view men and women might wonder just what makes intellectual property worthwhile.
"What, they might ask, do the workings of copyrights, patents, industrial designs or trademarks have to do with the really big issues such as how to stop global warming, etc. The answer to that is that without intellectual property rights many new technologies developed would never see the light of day and great entertaining sporting events would not be broadcast into our homes and across the globe," he said.
On World Intellectual Property Day Namibians are celebrating not only the enormous power of human creativity, but also the rights that help to fuel and channel it, making it such an important driving force for economic, cultural and social development.
"The integrity of our specie has propelled us from the invention of the wheel to be able to effortlessly air travel and the latest generation of clean technologies. It has led us from the creation of drawings on a cave wall to the printing press and on to the Internet putting the world literally at our finger tips," he said.
Dinyando further praised and paid homage to other technological advantages millions of ordinary people are today enjoying.
"The World Intellectual Property Organisation is committed to using intellectual property as a means of harnessing and spreading the power of human creativity and innovations so that the people of every country and community can share in their bounty.
That is why on this day we pay tribute to the inventors and artists, great and small, who enrich our very existence with the fruits of their innovative thoughts and creative visions. These are the rights they have earned through their talents that deserve our admiration, our protection and our respect," he concluded.
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