As Uganda concluded its presidency at the United Nations this year, an exhibition at UN headquarters in New York was held showcasing sculptures, paintings; beautiful art work that brightened up “Uganda, the Pearl” exhibition.
From September 9-11, Uganda’s tourism community mingled at the high profile UN headquarters, branding the nation as a prime tour destination.
Mr Kutesa and Ms Maria Mutagamba, the Minister for Tourism, treated the UN General Assembly to a cocktail. In his remarks, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated that he was “truly honoured to take part in this event and grateful for the invitation”.
He acknowledged that in Uganda as well as many other countries across the world, tourism employs millions of people, generates income and lifts communities out of poverty.
Ban Ki-moon pledged the UN’s readiness to shoulder common efforts in coordination with the World Tourism Organisation so that tourism continues to “change our lives, bringing us together -not only as a global community, but also as builders of the better world we all want for us and our grandchildren”.
Fronting Uganda’s most popular earner, the silverback mountain gorilla, Ms Mutagamba noted that of countries that are home to silver-back mountain gorillas, Uganda boasts of 54 per cent of their population.
Ambassador Richard Nduhuura, the Permanent Representative of Uganda to the UN, said this was the first time Uganda had exhibited at the UN headquarters.
He lauded Mr Kutesa for leveraging Uganda’s tourism potential by ensuring that such an auspicious occasion could take place in the presence of various dignitaries, including senior UN officials.
At the cocktail was UN’s Protocol Service, all 193 member states. Also in attendance were Ambassador Patrick Mugoya and Dr Andrew Seguya Executive Director of the Uganda Wildlife Authority, a delegation from the Tourism Sector in Uganda and representatives of the Africa Travel Association in New York.
Meanwhile, Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) made a presentation at the Uganda North America Association conference on September 4 where Mr Stephen Asiimwe, the board’s chief executive officer, shaded light on Uganda’s tourism following the theme “Opportunities in Trade, Tourism and Investment partnership between United States and Uganda.
UTB registered 10 tour operators to engage travel wholesalers in the US, hunting for opportunities to market Uganda but also the East Africa region to the possible one billion who travel the world every year.
Kutesa’s remarks
Mr Kutesa said the General Assembly had long recognised the importance of wildlife and its contribution to sustainable development among communities.He reminded guests of the General Assembly’s decision to proclaim March 3 annually, as World Wildlife Day. Under his presidency, the Assembly adopted a landmark resolution on tackling illicit trafficking in wildlife. It is on this foundation that business meetings were held among the international community to boost the sector in Uganda.
Animals, culture come to life
Featured in the exhibition were paintings by Stephen Gwoktcho, sculptures of Uganda’s Wildlife by American sculptor Bart Walter, Batik work by Nuwa Wamala Nnyanzi and photographs of Ugandan culture by D. Nsereko.
It was a showcase of wildlife, beautiful cultural diversity, the gradual diverse geographical features, from semi-arid, through grassland savannah to the thick equatorial rain forests.
Dr Stephen Gwoktcho’s silver-back gorilla and elephant paintings emphasise that Uganda has a stake in the loss of wildlife’s natural habitat.
Global warming and climate change might deprive these beautiful creatures of a home. Uganda remains resolute to protect the mountain gorilla and the African elephant, among other animal varieties.
“The elephant as a subject of art and art depiction dates back to the pre-historic era evidenced by the rock paintings of which tourism sites like Nyero Rock Paintings (Uganda) are known for. Uganda’s conservation drive through these paintings is addressing a crisis of global magnitude which if not attended to will deprive Uganda and the entire world of her natural and wildlife heritage,” Dr Gwoktcho said.
Bart Walter’s two Chimpanzee sculptures which form part of “The Troupe” were a marvel. These graced the exhibition, having been shipped from the Chattanooga Zoo where they are permanently on display.
The story of the pieces depicts a mother and child and teenage chimpanzee as part of a social structure that we can easily identify with as humans. Bart Walter travels all over the world to observe wildlife as subjects for his sculptures. He followed chimpanzees in Uganda’s Kibale forest and sculpted the Silverback Gorilla at the Uganda Wildlife Authority Headquarters in Kampala.