The State Minister for Gender and Culture Affairs, Peace Mutuuzo, has said that as culture becomes more public, there is a need for significant regulation of the digital sector, particularly on major platforms, to benefit online cultural diversity, artists’ intellectual property rights, and equitable access to content for all.

Mutuuzo made these remarks from the Uganda Media Centre (UMC) on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, while addressing the media on safeguarding culture as a national public good and eliminating cultural practices that hinder national development.

According to Mutuuzo, as Uganda joins the rest of the world in commemorating World Culture Day, the primary goal is to mobilize the public and raise awareness of the value of culture and the need to strengthen the sector for socio-economic transformation.

She stated that the theme, which is the Digital Transformation of Culture and Creative Industries, Packaging Art and Culture as a National Public Good, corresponds to the conference of culture ministers held in Mondiacult, Mexico, in September 2022.

“We are once again happy to join in the commemoration of World Culture Day on May 21, 2024, under the theme “Digital Transformation of the Culture and Creative Industries: Packaging Art and Culture as a National Public Good,” Mutuuzo said.

Mutuuzo highlighted that the theme was chosen to emphasize the importance of modernizing legal structures to support the digital transformation of the creative industries while ensuring that art and culture remain accessible and beneficial to all members of the community.

May 21st of every year was declared by UNESCO under United Nations General Assembly Resolution No. 51/249 as a World Culture Day, and Uganda has since 1999 joined the world to commemorate it.