The Young Ngoma yaBuntibe Group of Mucheni, together with five students from Binga High School, traveled to the Victoria Falls on 14th May to take part in the 2010 Culture Week Launch that was held at Chinotimba Stadium.

The Theme for this years culture week was “Zimbabwe`s Cultural Diversity at Thirty” referring to the thirty years of independence and the relevance of cultural diversity for the young nation.

The occasion was graced by The Honorable Governor of Matabeleland North, Mrs T Mathuthu, The Zambian Education and Culture officer, Mr Zimba, The National Arts Council Director and the Culture Fund Director, among others.

"TREFFPUNKT / MEETING PLACE AFRIKA"

INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL, 20th - 22nd May 2010 in Linz / Austria

From 20th until 22nd of May 2010 the cultural organization STADTWERKSTATT in Linz Austria is arranging together with partners from the fields of development cooperation, art and science the international festival "TREFFPUNKT / MEETING PLACE AFRIKA" on board of a vessel on the banks of the Danube river.

The festival is focusing on a two-days symposium with topics ranging from „African-European developments“ to „African Networks“. The Tonga.Online project with its Binga wireless pilot is one of the points of reference, others are Women of Uganda Network WOUGNET or Link-Net from Zambia, both specifically targeting network structures in rural areas. Therefore a crucial exchange of ideas and critical reflection of strategies and concepts is envisaged.

The lectures will be accompanied by filmscreenings, a DJ and concert nightline with great musicians from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Germany and Austria. And of course a soccer tournament..

read more: http://www.servus.at/stwst/ta

Theme: "Between Rapacious Self-Interest and a Clear Conscience"

Linz / Austria
May 20, 2010 / 8 PM
@ Ars Electronica Center

Peter Kuthan (sociologist and chairman of the Austria
Zimbabwe Friendship Association) and Horst Hörtner (director of the Ars Electronica
Futurelab) will host a Deep Space LIVE presentation and discussion
"dedicated to emerging ideas, promising visions and countervailing concepts".

Certainly, Tonga.Online will be a reference point for these elaborations.

1.Introduction

1.Introduction

Report by Josiah Moyo
SINAZONGWE Community Radio

Sinazongwe / Southern Province / Zambia

The report for the ITC and the radio station is from February, 2009 to December 2009.

see also recent news about the situation there under SINAZONGWE.ONLINE in the Discussion Forum;

and Josiah Moyo's report about the Review and Planning Workshop in Binga under the headline Kunzwana & Tonga.Online projects to live on   

A mission report by Peter Kuthan / Austria Zimbabwe Friendship Association, AZFA

Having just concluded a journey to Harare, Bulawayo, Binga and Johannesburg, which was encompassing numerous talks with partners and stakeholders and a project visit including a review and planning workshop, I am glad to report that a major break trough has been achieved: jointly we have found a way forward to salvage both, Kunzwana and Tonga.Online projects.

A comprehensive audio and video documentary of Parade, an encounter of musicians from different parts of the world in Linz / Austria, has been released. The CD/DVD package will be out after presentations in Linz on 8 - 10th December.

Simonga-Maliko, the 30 head strong Ngoma Buntibe group of musicians from Siachilaba and Sinazongwe on both sides of Lake Kariba have been the core ensemble of this very special festival.

A Celebration of the life and work of Keith Goddard among BaTonga Musicians
‘LINZ PARADE’  - (Documentary film, Austria, May 2009)
The Mannenberg, Fife Ave, Harare
Thursday 12 November 2009,  6-7.30pm

As a celebration of the life and work of the late Keith Goddard, Pamberi Trust invites you to a film screening of the world music documentary ‘LINZ PARADE’, filmed with Keith and BaTonga musicians of Zimbabwe and Zambia in Austria in May 2009 - another fascinating collaboration between musicians of the world.

The Mokoomba youngsters from VicFalls have been voted to represent Africa at the Global Campaign Against Poverty in the Netherlands / Europe!

After winning the interregional Festival and winning the opportunity to tour around Europe, then seeing their dreams falling apart by the cancellation of the tour due to Visa issues, they finally get what they deserve.

Mokoomba battled for the top spot with East and Southern African groups, 16 of them Zimbabwean, including Andy Brown and The Storm, Nina Ogot, Just a Band, Victor Kunonga, Xtra Large and Lyadia, among many others.

The Victoria Falls-based band sings mainly in Tonga, a language foreign to even the majority of Zimbabweans, but they have still managed to break the barriers and prove their talent on the biggest of platforms the world over.

With deep sorrow we have been informed that our friend and Director of Kunzwana Trust Keith Goddard passed away last night, Friday 9 October at St Anne's hospital in Harare, where to he has been admitted two weeks ago with pneumonia.

It seems really impossible to believe that Keith has gone. What a great loss to all of us, foremost to his mother Pauline but also for the gay and lesbian community of Zimbabwe, GALZ, for the promotion of cultural exchange by Kunzwana Trust and for the Tonga.Online project and the Tonga community at large. Keith has always been in the forefront in pushing for tolerance and appreciation of cultural and sexual differences in society but was also actively involved in broader human rights campaigning and in the fight for access to affordable treatment for all people living with HIV/AIDS. And he was a composer and promoter of cultural diversity and inter-cultural exchange for many years.

A report from Josiah Moyo who accompanied the Maliko group of musicians from Sinazongwe / Zambia on their journey to Austria to attend the Parade at Linz 09: "Ich war dabei" which means " I was part of it" and was written on the Linz09 T-shirts.

He writes about their astonishment: "they did not think that blowing a horn ('kusiba nyele'  in local Tonga language) can take a person so far".

See the many pictures enclosed in the report and read the accounts of participants. Read also feedback from other groups of musicians participating: http://www.linz09.at/parade-blog

The two Tonga groups of musicians, Simonga from Siachilaba in Binga district in Zimbabwe and Maliko from Sinazongwe in Zambia, who formed a joint ensemble as one of the highlights of Parade at Linz 2009 Cultural Capital of Europe in May are going to continue their collaboration across the waters of Lake Kariba.

Unfortunately this years visit and performances at the annual thanksgiving Lwiindi ceremony end of July at the Malende site in Sinazongwe was overcast by the mourning for the late Jonah Syamenga Syankondo.

Early this morning a joint ensemble of Tonga Ngoma Buntibe musicians from Zimbabwe and Zambia have paraded the Victoria Falls bridge into Zambia to board an areoplane in Livingstone tomorrow for the flight to Austria / Europe. Fifteen musicians of Simonga group from Siachilaba and fifteen musicians of Maliko from Sinazongwe have been invited by Linz2009, the Cultural Capital of Europe this year to participate at Parade from 1st to 3rd May.  The group is led by Jossam Munkuli and Peter Mungombe of Simonga, and by David Mundando and Chief Sinazongwe of Maliko. Tour manager is Sengamo Ndlovu from Tonga.Online team in Binga.

"It is such a pleasure to see the efforts by Simonga and Maliko to highlight the cultural heritage of the BaTonga people. That the event is being hosted on the Zambezi River, across the bridge, could not have been more symbolic. The bridge physically unites the two sides of the river as does this cultural project for the BaTonga people across the river." (Dominic Muntanga)

Time flies, the Parade at Linz 2009 -  the European Capital of Culture this year - is coming closer.

One of the key participants will be a joint ensemble of the Ngoma Buntibe groups Simonga from Siachilaba in Zimbabwe and Maliko from Sinazongwe in Zambia.

Have a look at the blog to see what's happening in the run-up to the
Parade, post your comments and greetings, and follow the events in Linz / Austria on site or online.

Parade-blog launch: www.linz09.at/parade-blog
http://www.linz09.at/parade-blog

A Multi-Stakeholder planning workshop for Ministry of Education, Sports, Arts and Culture (MOEASC) was held from the 3rd to the 4th of March 2009 in Bulawayo.

The workshop which was attended by NGOs and partners working with the ministry in Matabeleland North Province was organised by MOESC with the objectives of:-

i)Getting the stakeholders to know each other and their areas of operation in light of avoiding duplication of effort.

ii)Stakeholders to understand the goals and objectives of the MOEASC and in this way assist the ministry in achieving them.

iii)Share experiences and together plan the way forward for a better Matabeleland North as far as education provision was concerned.

Invitation to the presentation of the video documentation and exhibition:

The set up of the Sinazongwe Community Radio by Tonga.OnAir team: Marcus Diess, Sandra Hochholzer, Hannelore Leindecker, Ingo Leindecker 

 Venue: Kunstuniversity Linz, Audimax Date: Thursday 6th of December 19:00 

Images of the event 

A milestone in the development of Sinazongwe district was marked at the end of July by the establishment of the first community radio station in the Gwembe Valley by a team of Austrian ‘open access’ radio activists, Sandra Hochholzer, Ingo Leindecker, Hannelore Leindecker and Marcus Diess, who are reporting on their website

"..the new Sinazongwe Community Radio is ready to go on air!"

More information including a detailed project documentation is promised to come up soon,

read also their blog TRAVELOGUE (in German) on

http://www.servus.at/tongaonair/index.html