Posted by The Prime Minister of Mauritius, Dr Navin Chandra Ramgoolam on Saturday opened the festivities of the International Creole Festival (ICF) at the Cyber City in Ebene, 15 km from the Mauritian capital Port Louis.
In front of thousands of spectators, Ramgoolam declared that the theme of this year’s festival was Freedom, Equality and Pride, which he said has been well chosen as it reflects the fight of the descendants of slaves for freedom, equal opportunities for all segments of the Mauritian population and the pride of belonging to the Creole community.
Ramgoolam added that his government will do everything possible to bring equality in all spheres of life in the Mauritian society and mentioned that parliament has just voted the Equal Opportunities Bill which will guarantee that every Mauritian has the same chances especially concerning job allocations.
For his part, Xavier Luc Duval, vice Prime Minister, Minister of Tourism and the main organizer of the festivities declared that the opening ceremony was being held on the grounds of the Cyber City as he has wanted to place Creolity in a modern context.
Following the opening ceremony, a conference on Creolity will be held in the main auditorium of the Cyber City. Taking part will be participants from Reunion Island, the West Indies, Seychelles, Mayotte and Madagascar.
The festivities, which will last for a whole week, will include a huge expo and fair under the theme -Celebrating the Creole Woman- at the Mon Choisy beach, 15 km north of Port Louis on Sunday. The government has put 70 buses freely for the whole day at the disposal of the public to attend the fair.
Also an inter-mixed (Metissage) evening will take place on Monday at Fort Adelaide in the centre of Port Louis and a typical Creole cultural evening will be organized on Wednesday at Le Morne village, 30 km from the capital. The village is mainly inhabited by a Creole population.
Local and foreign poets will participate in the Poetry Night at the Domaine les Pailles restaurant in the outskirts of Port Louis on Thursday and the festivities will end on Saturday with an all-night musical concert at Les Salines garden in Port Louis.
Source African Press Agency
