Zimbabwe’s First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa officiated at the Mbira Festival and launched the Mbira Virtuous publication at Baradzanwa Cultural Village in Mazowe, as the country marked its ongoing Culture Month commemorations.
Dr Mnangagwa, who serves as Patron of the Tourism and Hospitality Industry and Culture and Heritage Ambassador, presided over the event which celebrated the Mbira as both a musical instrument and a sacred symbol of Zimbabwean spirituality, identity and cultural expression.
The festival was held shortly after the launch of the “Nhaka Yedu, Ilifa Lethu, Our Heritage” campaign, which reflects Zimbabwe’s growing drive to preserve and promote its rich cultural heritage while positioning tourism as a key pillar for economic growth and community empowerment. The event is rooted in the heritage-based philosophy championed under President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s leadership. 
The occasion brought together the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry and the Ministry of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture in what organisers described as a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to preserving and promoting Zimbabwe’s Mbira heritage.
The festival came against the backdrop of encouraging tourism figures. International tourist arrivals grew by 11 percent during the first quarter of this year, while domestic tourism trips rose by 35 percent, figures that demonstrate the growing role tourism plays in national economic development.
The Mbira Festival also drew attention to the tourism and business potential within Zimbabwe’s cultural and creative industries, spanning instrument production, performances, festivals, crafts, hospitality services and cultural tourism experiences.
Calls were made at the event to institutionalise the festival as an annual national event, bringing together communities, artists, businesses and tourists from across the world. Speakers pointed to the importance of safeguarding indigenous knowledge systems through intergenerational knowledge transfer and the involvement of traditional leaders as custodians of culture and heritage.
The festival is seen as part of Zimbabwe’s broader strategy to leverage culture as a competitive economic asset capable of driving job creation, youth empowerment, community development and sustainable tourism growth towards the attainment of Vision 2030 and National Development Strategy 2.
