AS part of activities marking the 2025 International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, organizers of DATCH Festival has concluded arrangements to deploy about 10,000 persons to assist in reviving languages and heritage sites in Delta State.
The Festival under the theme, ‘Preserving Rights, Traditions and Sustainable Futures’, the organizers informed that the 10,000 Envoys’ program will entrench indigenous leadership into governance, education, tourism, entrepreneurship and climate action across all 25 Local Government Areas of the state.
They held that by positioning cultural custodians as agents of change, the initiative will not only to protect what is at the risk of extinction such as languages, heritage sites and traditional knowledge systems, it will also adapt and leverage them for the realities of a sustainable, inclusive future.
“The program is poised to create new jobs, strengthen community resilience and ensure that Delta State’s indigenous heritage is preserved and profitably integrated into the state’s development vision.”
A global culture diplomacy expert and convener, Pan-Africa Culture and Heritage Envoys for Economic Development (PACHEED) Initiative, Mr. Victor Wilkinson Agih, in a statement signed yesterday, explained that the engagement of 10,000 envoys is a prove that Pan-African indigenous leadership is not a footnote in development but the foundation.
“This is cultural capital at its most strategic, protecting our past and financing our future”, he said.
The Creative Director of DATCH Festival, Mr. Francis Duru, added that every envoy is both a custodian and an innovator as they carry the rights, traditions and the dreams of their people into spaces, where decisions are made.
The Chief Executive Officer, DATCH Festival, Mr. Kelechi Freeman Ukadike, who spoke earlier, remarked that the initiative was not just about heritage preservation but also a growth model embedding culture in the economic and governance DNA of the state.
“The 10,000 Envoys program is not a one-off festival activation, it is the foundation for Delta State’s Heritage Economy Strategy, designed to operate year-round. This strategy integrates cultural innovation into business ecosystems, embeds indigenous rights into governance processes and positions heritage as a driver of climate resilience and green economic transformation.
As Delta State steps into this new era of cultural leadership, the DATCH Festival stands as a continental model for how indigenous traditions, when empowered and resourced, can shape a more inclusive, resilient and prosperous future.
“The message is clear – protecting our heritage is not a nostalgic act; it is an investment in our collective tomorrow.
“This groundbreaking initiative builds on the festival’s proven model of harnessing culture as a driver for economic growth, environmental stewardship and social cohesion”, the organisers held.
