September Celebrations: Belize-at-Forty Awards

Tomorrow officially marks the first day of September, the month when Belizeans show their national pride. In that spirit, the National Celebrations Commission has been planning a series of events to commemorate Belize’s forty years as an independent nation. The month kicks off with the national flag raising day. There are official events planned for the tenth, twentieth and twenty-first of Septembers. The twelfth is recognized as the national day of prayer.  This year, the N.C.C. has been funding art murals in municipalities across the country.   Today, President of the National Institute of Culture and History, Sapna Budhrani told us about these events, as well as a new endeavor to those who have contributed to Belizean arts.

Sapna Budhrani

Sapna Budhrani, President, NICH

“Belize-at-Forty prizes is recognizing and honoring those who have gone, and regarding those who are alive and in those fields. For instance, we have the Rosita Balthazar Belize-at-Forty prize for dance. That prize will be given to someone who is nominated in that field, whether a dance teacher or someone who is dancing, somebody who has done something for the community in dance. That is the main criteria. You write anyone could write two hundred words or less than two hundred words to say why that person should be nominated, and give something about that person. Explain about that person, provide pictures, and provide videos. So, that is seven awards that will be given. That is two thousand dollars for each award. We are recognizing people, so for September we are not only recognizing the visual artists, but we are also recognizing people. That is not something we have done in the past. Maybe it is something we have done through the Tribute to Belizean patriots, but this one is different. This is about cultural heritage and arts.”