The Interreligious Council together with the Ugandan chapter of the Global Peace Foundation and the government of Uganda have launched the first edition of the Family Festival that will see families come together to celebrate their faith, freedom and oneness.The festival which will be presided over by President Yoweri Museveni will be marked under the theme: “Celebrating Family, Faith, Freedom; One family under God for African Renaissance”.The event will be held at Kololo Independence grounds on June 29, 2024 and the keynote speaker will be the chairman of the Global Peace Foundation, Dr. Hyun Jin Moon.Speaking during the launch at the Uganda Media Centre, the President Global Peace Foundation Uganda Chapter, Peace Service Ambassador, Milton Kambula said that the festival will highlight the importance of family values and interfaith cooperation in advancing freedom and the vision of a twenty-first century African renaissance.“We are meeting to celebrate the vision of one family under God, a path of reviving the African renaissance. We are motivated that once again Africa is becoming the centre of world peace, with kings building the capacities of families and rising them so that they can give us a new population that can build a new Africa for the future,” Amb. Kambula said.He added that the festival is expected to culminate in the establishment of a policy framework to support the implementation of the African renaissance and the revitalisation of inter-religious councils across the continent.“It is hoped that through these efforts, the festival will contribute to the promotion of African values and the empowerment of communities to address the challenges facing the continent such as; poverty, governance, cultural violence among others.”The co-chair Council of Presidents of the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU), Metropolitan Jeronymos Muzeeyi said that festival will provide a platform to explore best practices in peacebuilding and share ways to address poverty, education and community health initiatives.“Under the influence of globalization, the traditional African family system is increasingly getting challenged and weakened as new family patterns emerge and get diffused over the continent. As your leaders, we believe that there is a lot at stake if we fail to stand up to protect and defend the family, freedom and our religious and cultural values,” Muzeeyi said.Muzeeyi noted that as a precursor to the festival, various activities and discussions will take place including; tree planting in Mayuge, Panel and round table discussions, youth and tourism colloquiums, community service for peace, exhibitions, the Uganda Martyrs’ trail and environmental conservation initiatives.During the launch, the Minister of Public Service, Wilson Muruuli Mukasa who is also a co-chair of the festival’s national organising committee noted that government has put its full weight behind the festival.“We shall not only celebrate but promote the African spiritual and cultural values in the face of erosion of culture; we expect that at the end of the day, there will be increased respect for African values and the family structure will be strengthened.”The family festival will see over 20, 000 people in attendance as well as former presidents and leaders from the continent.https://www.ugbulletin.co.ug/museveni-to-grace-first-ever-family-festival/
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