April 1, 2010 (REVISED April 5, 2010) Zambia’s Cultural Heritage Is Subject of April 13 Program At the Library of Congress

As part of a year-long celebration of its 50th anniversary, the African Section of the Library’s African and Middle Eastern Division will sponsor a program on Zambia’s cultural heritage at noon on Tuesday, April 13, in Room 220 of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street S.E., Washington, D.C. The featured speaker will be Mulenga Kapwepwe, policy advisor in Zambia's Ministry of Sport, Youth and Child Development, and chair of the Zambian National Arts Council.

Mulenga Kapwepwe is an award-winning playwright and author of such works as “Heart of the Cyclone,” which won the best creative writing award at Zambia’s Ngoma Awards; the epic musical drama “Chiti Mu Luba,” which won four Ngoma awards; and “Kafuti-the Brazen Serpent.” Her historical plays include “A Lunda Love Story” and “Longa,” both published in 2002. The author of seven short works on Zambian culture, Kapwepwe also edited and wrote sections of the 2009 compendium “Ceremony! Celebrating Zambia’s Cultural Heritage.” She has hosted and produced weekly radio programs on Zambian culture and social issues including HIV/AIDS prevention, and a weekly television program on economic issues for the Zambian National Broadcasting Company (ZNBC). She is the daughter of Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe, one of the leaders of the Zambian independence movement.

A champion for literacy, Kapwepwe serves on the advisory board of the award-winning Lubuto Library Project (www.lubuto.org). The project was established in 2005 to build libraries (buildings and collections) for homeless and at-risk children in sub-Saharan Africa, many of whom are orphaned as a result of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The Lubuto Library Project is a reading-promotion partner of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.

The Library’s African Section was established in 1960 as part of the General Reference and Bibliography Division. In 1978, a reorganization established the African and Middle Eastern Division, comprising the African, Hebraic and Near East Sections. Together they cover some 78 countries and regions from Southern Africa to the Maghreb and from the Middle East to Central Asia. For more information about the division and its holdings, go to www.loc.gov/rr/amed/.

Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution. The Library seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs and exhibitions. Many of the Library’s rich resources can be accessed through its website at www.loc.gov and via interactive exhibitions on a personalized website at myLOC.gov.