Chipinge launches Ndau TV documentary

BY SHARRON MYAMBO

Mapopoma eZvipo Arts Academy held the premier launch of the Inside Ndau Culture Documentary Film Season 2 at Gaza High School in Chipinge on 2 October 2026.

The event was graced by Chipinge District Development Coordinator Mr William Mashava, who was represented by administrator Chamunorwa Salani, and other government stakeholders.

In a speech read on her behalf by Chipinge District Schools Inspector Michael Chanyau, the Guest of Honour, the Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Honourable Angeline Gata, congratulated the producer, Joseph Bhasera Sithole, Mapopoma eZvipo Arts and Cultural Academy, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, cultural practitioners, traditional leaders, educators, researchers and communities for bringing the initiative to fruition.

She said the occasion was not simply a celebration of a 13-episode documentary series. It was a celebration of language, heritage, identity, indigenous knowledge, education, creativity and community participation.

The Deputy Minister said the project showed that culture can be documented through modern technology, preserved through media, studied through research and transformed into opportunities for creativity and enterprise. She linked it to Vision 2030, which aims to make Zimbabwe a prosperous and empowered upper-middle-income society by 2030, and to the National Development Strategy 2, covering 2026 to 2030.

She encouraged stakeholders to consider the documentary’s educational potential, saying a teacher can use an episode as a starting point for classroom discussion, while learners can carry out further research, interview elders and document traditional games, foods and music. She stressed that the screening should be the beginning of further learning, not the end.

Turning to indigenous languages, the Deputy Minister said language is one of the strongest carriers of culture. She called for the development of Ndau children’s literature, poetry, stories, research publications and teaching materials, as well as young people who can use the language confidently in both cultural and contemporary settings.

In closing, she said Vision 2030 will not be achieved by Government alone. It requires a whole-of-society approach in which Government institutions, communities, universities, schools, businesses, civil society, traditional leaders and citizens all play complementary roles.