Kampala experienced the first ever Azulato Children’s Festival this weekend, which attracted a big crowd of excited kids and their parents, who all took interest in the unique learning activities offered to the children.
The guild collection, Tribe Uganda, was one of the activity partners. Bringing together 10 creative studios around Kampala, the Design Hub based studio seeks to involve kids in the creative arts. They believe that Uganda’s school curriculum has fallen short over and over again in fulfilling the needs of young creatives whose talents burn so raw, but fail to find a nurturing environment to grow their artistic skills along the way.
What becomes of them: the young creatives? Last Sunday, parents stopped waiting for the curriculum to change, and instead they brought children in droves to the Azulato Children’s festival in a bold statement showing that Ugandans care about their children’s creativity and understand the value of providing fun, engaging and unforgettable hands-on learning experiences.
The Tribe Uganda founder, Ntaate Laurean, hopes the Azulato Festival inspires a little change of the Uganda school curriculum. However, “hope” is not all that he had to say.
“The festival turn up is amazing and as you see in our tent, there’s so much activity. The children want to be involved in making the animations; they want to tell stories; they want to print. Sitting them in one place without them getting hands-on experience is not so helpful. We are glad to be part of the first edition of this Azulato Children’s Festival, and hope for an even bigger one next year.” Ntaate says.
Spin a motor, light an LED, make a simple fan, assemble a robot! Fun Fact; did you know that instead of buying so many toys, instead your child can learn how to repair his own toys? Stacy Asiimwe of Fundi Bots thinks the answer is yes. At the Azulato Children’s Festival, children had the opportunity to learn how to create battery powered rovers, build them with sensors that can dodge obstacles, speak and sense light.
According to Stacy, there is a need to build interest in practical engineering skills while children are still young. Exposing them to such simple skills will, in the long run, amplify their desire for advanced skills and chart a course towards the kind of careers that build the country.
The first Azulato Children’s Festival attracted an enthusiastic crowd of all ages, and was made possible through collaboration between very many Ugandan organizations in partnership with the organizers Goethe-Zentrum Kampala, the German Cultural Society.
The festival intends to come back next year with more activities that inspire creativity and exploration among Uganda’s children. Follow the Azulato Facebook page for updates at Azulato Childrens Festival or visit the website as not to miss the next festival.
