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  • Advise on policy issues or matters related to culture;
  • Attend to enquiries on cultural promotion and development;
  • Offer technical and expertise assistance on cultural matters;
  • Registration of cultural groups and individual cultural practitioners;
  • Conducting capacity building for cultural and art practitioners;
  • Undertake cultural research and documentation;
  • Coordinate cultural exchange programmes for groups and individuals;
  • Partner with stakeholders in programmes to preserve, promote and revitalize culture through cultural development programmes such as festivals, exhibitions, cultural dialogue forums among others;
  • Promotion of Kenyan languages and oral traditions;
  • Promotion and safeguarding of indigenous knowledge systems;
  • Tap and harness art talents as a key to development and promotion of the creative economy;

National Policy on Culture and Heritage

  • The National Policy on Culture and Heritage was approved in the year 2020
  • The Policy is anchored on the Constitution of Kenya, Vision 2030, and the regional and international legal instruments that promote culture as a pillar for national cohesion and sustainable development;
  • In accordance with the Constitution, the Policy recognizes culture as the foundation of the nation and as the cumulative civilization of the Kenyan people and the Nation
  • The policy Provides an enabling environment for appreciating, protecting, safeguarding and promoting the cultures of the people of Kenya;
  • It also reinforces national unity and pride while stimulating creativity and innovation.
  • Policy provides direction for the implementation of cultural programmes at National and County level taking into cognizance that the management of culture is a devolved function.

 

Promotion of national cohesion and appreciation of Kenya’s cultural diversity

  • Hold the annual Kenya Music and Cultural Festival that brings together cultural groups, community choirs, individual artists and exhibitors for a one-week celebration of cultural performances and exhibitions;
  • Interaction during festival contributes to the demystification of stereotypes and perceptions that cultural groups could have of each other;
  • Since 2010, the festival is held on a rotational basis, thus, providing communities with the opportunity to traverse different cultural landscapes enabling them appreciate Kenya’s cultural diversity;

 

Development of the cultural and creative industries sector

  • The creative industries – which include arts and crafts, fashion, film, video, photography, music, performing arts, publishing, research & development, software, computer games, electronic publishing, and TV/radio – are one of the fastest growing sectors of the world economy and according to UNCTAD, it contributes approximately 7% to Kenya’s GDP;
  • The Department is involved in capacity building programmes in some of the domains of the CCI in Kenya. Last year, the Department trained over 2000 artists from the counties;
  • The department also promote the participation of Kenyan creatives in regional and international art-events hence creating markets and exposure for Kenyan art products. For instance, Kenya presented a pavilion at the 9th edition of the International Arts Festival, Venice Biennale 2022.

  • The objective of the Act is to enable communities to control the use of culturally significant and economically valuable knowledge and expressions;
  • It further provides a framework for the protection and promotion of traditional cultural expressions by creating a new form of intellectual property right (IPR), held by the community itself;
  • The department has developed regulations for the implementation of the TK &CE Act;
  • Need to have the regulations approved by Cabinet and subsequently by Parliament;

 

  • This is the biggest art and culture festival in the East African Community;
  • In September 2022, Kenya participated in the 5th edition of the regional festival that was held in Bujumbura, Burundi representing Kenya’s cultural diversity;
  • The main festival objective is to deepen integration within the EAC Community;
  • Promotes trade and exchange among the Member States of the Community;

 

  • Department is at an advanced stage of formulating a National Language Policy for Kenya;
  • Article 7 of the Constitution specifically provides for promotion and protection of the national, official and other languages of Kenya;
  • The policy framework promotes multilingualism and strongly encourages the utilization of indigenous languages in order to foster and promote national unity;
  • It advocates for the use of Kiswahili as a national language for communication in all spheres of life, including in the legislature, the education sector, judiciary and so on;
  • Provides for the establishment of a National Kiswahili Council to streamline the usage of Kiswahili as a regional lingua franca in accordance with the treaty establishing the East African Community;
  • Draft Kiswahili Policy formulated

 

  • The department successfully inscribed the three Male Rites of Passage of the Maasai community in the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage List of Elements in Need of Urgent Safeguarding (Port Louis, Mauritius, 2018).
  • This has facilitated the implementation of safeguarding measures, including documentation and mapping of sacred sites where these rites are practiced;
  • Inscribed the practices and rituals associated with Kit Mikay during the 13th Intergovernmental Committee meeting of the 2003
  • UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Colombia in December, 2019;
  • Negotiated at least three bilateral agreements on culture with Tanzania, Cuba and Zimbabwe in the last two years. Five others are at different stages of execution.

 

  • The department is implementing two UNESCO Culture Conventions which are international instruments that guide the management of cultural heritage for the promotion of human creativity, safeguarding culture and heritage worldwide;
  • Capacity-building of stakeholders and communities on the provisions of the 2003 and 2005 UNESCO Conventions in accordance with the UNESCO Operational Guidelines;
  • The department is in the process of ractifying three other Conventions on Culture: 2001 UNESCO Convention for the Protection of
  • Underwater Cultural Heritage; the 1954 UNESCO Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of Armed Conflict and the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.

 

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