World Swahili Day celebrations are currently ongoing in various parts of Kenya.
The world is welcoming the day with excitement and enthusiasm as Kiswahili had already cut a niche for itself in most countries globally.
This is after after the declaration by the 41st Session of the UNESCO member states in 2021 that declared July 7 every year the World Kiswahili Language Day.
In Lamu, the day was marked at the Utamaduni centre with different speakers sharing their views about why the day was important.
Hafswa Diffin, community education officer, at the National Museum of Kenya, Lamu fort decried the current crop of young people saying they are corrupting the Swahili language.
"The Swahili National Day came at a time when it was needed. Currently we have had modern street lingua that our children are exposed to due to modern technology and social media."
Firdaus Mjamal Salim, deputy headteacher, Lamu Boys primary called upon parents and teachers to identify and correct a student immediately in case there is a misuse of the language.
"Stop ignoring small mistakes young people are doing especially in school," she said.
Tanzania’s Permanent Representative to the UN Professor Kennedy Gastorn said Tanzania requested this specific date because on 7 July 1954, the Tanganyika African National Union, then the ruling party, declared Swahili an important tool in the fight for independence.
In addition, the Embassy of France in Kenya, together with Lamu-based civil society organization – Lamu Youth Alliance - will launch a newly equipped live performance space - Utamaduni Centre.
This newly equipped space with state-of-the-art sound and light equipment mean that Lamu Youth Alliance will provide an avenue for young talents to grow their capacities while also continuing to stage live performances.
To achieve this, CASiK has donated equipment worth Ksh 2m (16, 000 Euros ) to the newly built 200-seater capacity hall.
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