{"id":2461,"date":"2025-10-03T14:37:36","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T14:37:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/?p=2461"},"modified":"2025-10-03T14:49:59","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T14:49:59","slug":"eswatini-deputy-prime-minister-thulisile-dladla-leads-first-disability-arts-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/index.php\/2025\/10\/03\/eswatini-deputy-prime-minister-thulisile-dladla-leads-first-disability-arts-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"Eswatini deputy prime minister Thulisile Dladla leads first disability arts festival"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-10-03-at-17.47.06-1024x683.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2464\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-10-03-at-17.47.06-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-10-03-at-17.47.06-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-10-03-at-17.47.06-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-10-03-at-17.47.06-1200x801.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-10-03-at-17.47.06.jpeg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Deputy Prime Minister Thulisile Dladla led Eswatini\u2019s first Disability Arts Festival on September 27, breaking new ground by placing government leadership at the centre of disability inclusion.<br>\u201cThis occasion is more than a festival; it is a testament to courage, creativity, and the undeniable truth that disability is not inability,\u201d said Dladla during her opening remarks.<br>The festival gathered artists with disabilities, caregivers, sign-language interpreters, and musicians in a day of performance, poetry, and song.<br>Performers including young women Charity and Nothando were recognized, underscoring the impact of creating spaces where people with disabilities can showcase their talent.<br>Edd Branson Publishers, a partner in the event, announced plans to mentor and promote some of the performers internationally.<br>Talks are also underway with Kenyan and East African musicians to produce a collaborative album rooted in the African philosophy of Ubuntu, which stresses collective success.<br>Advocates in Kenya observed that Eswatini\u2019s approach offers a model. \u201cHer Excellency Dladla has shown that leadership matters,\u201d said a Nairobi-based disability-rights advocate.<br>\u201cBy combining policy, resources, and personal engagement, she has turned ideas into opportunities. Kenya and Africa as a whole can replicate this approach to empower its own artists and citizens with disabilities.\u201d<br>Kenya has introduced disability policies in recent years but campaigners argue implementation remains uneven, pointing to gaps in education, employment, technology access, and inclusive cultural spaces.<br>Observers say Eswatini\u2019s deliberate investment shows inclusion can move from paper commitments to lived reality.<br>Festival organisers closed with a call for cross-border collaboration, expressing hope that Kenyan performers with disabilities will take part in the next edition and feature in the planned music project.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Deputy Prime Minister Thulisile Dladla led Eswatini\u2019s first Disability Arts Festival on September 27, breaking new ground by placing government leadership at the centre of disability inclusion.\u201cThis occasion is more than a festival; it is a testament to courage, creativity, and the undeniable truth that disability is not inability,\u201d said Dladla during her opening remarks.The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2461"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2461\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2465,"href":"https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2461\/revisions\/2465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailykenya.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}