"The challenge to this cultural centre, in the present and in the future, is to promote and lead cultural animation, open a space for dialogue between generations, for the sharing of that rich testimony that the new generations should inherit with great pride", he said.
Guebuza recalled the history of the role played by this building, in its previous incarnations: it was established in 1932 as the "Negrophile Institute", and later, in 1937, renamed the "Association of the Blacks of the Colony of Mozambique".
Guebuza stressed that the vision of the men and women who founded that earlier organisation could be understood from the priority they gave to education, as their main social objective.
That priority, he said, came from the knowledge that control of science and technology were unavoidable factors in reaffirming the personality of Mozambicans to win their dignity, and to launch foundations for recovering their self-esteem.
He also recalled that in the same centre there also functioned, in the 1950s, the Nucleus of Mozambican African Secondary Students (NESAM), which was founded by Eduardo Mondlane, who later went on to become the first President of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), at its first congress in 1962, and is regarded as the architect of Mozambican national unity.
Guebuza praised NESAM for its cultural work, particularly for encouraging a revolt against the Portuguese concept of "assimilation".
"Some of the participants today will recall the burning debates about matters of identity, inspired in the sessions of poetry, and African singing and dancing', said Guebuza.
Discreet political activities also formed part of the NESAM agenda, which led to direct confrontations between the members of the Nucleus and the colonial authorities.
Guebuza recalled that it was from NESAM that the young people involved recovered their self-esteem, which later enabled them to defeat foreign domination. Today the same self-esteem was required to defeat the unforgiving evils of poverty.
"Yesterday we were engaged in the fight against foreign domination, certain that we were right and victory was within our reach. Today, we are right again, because not being poor is one of the most important of human rights", said Guebuza.
SOURCE: AIM
