There will be no annual cultural festival for the San people this year because of the elections.

Annual San Cultural Festival Founder Delila Gaxas-Ipinge, however, called on young people to get involved in organising the festival for next year. 

Cultural festivals help preserve traditions, languages, and practices that might otherwise fade over time. 

They serve as a platform for passing down stories, art forms, and customs to future generations.

Involvement of the youth encourages them to connect with their culture.

"The annual San Cultural Festival is particularly looking at empowering the youth to take part in the preserving, managing, and organising of the annual San Cultural Festival," explained Gaxas-Ipinge.

The San people possess a rich cultural heritage as they have extensive knowledge about the environment, including plant uses, animal behaviour, and sustainable living practices.

"We saw the need of preserving our culture as San people; we saw that all the cultures are really proud of who they are and they are preserving their cultures and languages, but as San people, we were just watching other tribes doing this."

The first San Cultural Festival was hosted in Gobabis last year, and preparations are underway for the festival's second edition. 

What programmes contribute to the San people's initiatives and what influence do stakeholders have over policies and decisions affecting the San people are some of the questions the festival aims to get answered.

The flag of the annual San Cultural Festival was also unveiled at the occasion.