Sumbe — Angolan minister of Culture Rosa Cruz e Silva urged the communities to actively take part in the actions focussed on preservation, enhancing and protection of cultural assets and heritage of the country.

The Cabinet minister was speaking at the opening ceremony of seminar on management, promotion of theatre and dance, held in Sumbe, coastal Kwanza Sul province, ahead of celebration of National Culture Day, on January 8.

The official considered the participation of communities in management actions essential, as its the communities who are the main beneficiaries of the referred assets.

During the eight-day training, the participants agents linked to different fields of culture will have the opportunity to upgrade their knowledge.

The National Culture Day, instituted in 1986, following a speech delivered by the then president of Angola, António Agostinho Neto, in 1979, during the swearing-in of the board of the Angolan Writers Association (UEA), will be celebrated on Tuesday, January 8.

The date was later on approved by the Decree 21 and printed in the Republic Gazette 87, series I of November 1986, in homage to the speech on the National Culture delivered by the founder of the Angolan nation.

During the above mentioned ceremony in 1979, Agostinho Neto delivered a speech focusing on the National Culture, which became an essential reference in all discussions on the issue in the country.

Meanwhile, the central Kwanza Sul province will be the home for the main event of the celebrations of the National Culture Day, on January 8, with various cultural activities.