Victor Ezeja
The 6th edition of World Poetry Day celebration hosted by Providus Bank will hold on 21 March 2025 at Terra Kulture Arena, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) had in 1999 declared 21 March every year as World Poetry Day (WPD), dedicated to celebrating Humanities through poetry and especially to “give fresh recognition and impetus to national, regional, and international poetry movements.”
The celebration highlights reading, performing, writing, publishing, and teaching of poetry throughout the world.
Since 2020, Providus Bank has hosted the WPD in Nigeria as part of its CSR initiative.
The event, which is curated by cultural ambassador, Mr Jahman Anikulapo, for the Culture Advocates Caucus (CAC), is under the guidance of the Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, a former UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.
According to a statement by Anikulapo, past editions of the programme officially titled, ProvidusBank World Poetry Day Café: An Evening with Wole Soyinka have explored themes relating to humanity’s existential concerns, which include preservation of the environment, education, youth and female empowerment, migration and socio-cultural pluralism.
The statement explained that the 2025 edition of the World Poetry Day is dedicated to commemorating the beginning of the United Nations Second Decade of African Descendants (2025 – 2034), hence the theme: “Sand Dune And Ocean Bed: The Template Of Dispersal.”
The curator emphasised that the theme is also in the context of the ongoing UN Anniversary for Enslaved Peoples and Reparatory Justice.
The event, which starts at 4 pm, will feature, among other items, poetry reading, performances, and workshops. It will be attended by diverse guests including eminent members of the literary community, patrons of the arts, captains of industries, as well as invited members of the public.
The Republic of Cuba as ‘SPECIAL GUEST-NATION’
The statement further indicated that the 2025 edition will host a delegation of Poets and a 15-piece musical orchestra from the Republic of Cuba, which has been designated the “Special Guest-Nation.”
The statement emphasised that the invitation of the Republic of Cuba as “Special Guest-Nation” for the 2025 edition, as advised by Professor Soyinka, the patron of the project, is singularly apt at a time of the 30th Anniversary of UNESCO’s Programme, “The Routes of Enslaved Peoples: Resistance, Liberty and Heritage.” The conference will be held on 25 March 2025 in the USA.
The Cuban delegation, which comprises a 15-man team accompanied by some senior government officials, led by the Republic’s Minister of Culture, Hon. Alpidio Alonso Grau, will have their first presentation in Lagos on 21 March, which is the main day of the World Poetry Day.
READ ALSO: Verses in Honour of Womanhood As 2023 Providus Bank World Poetry Day Café Holds March 21
“However, in line with the expressed desire of the visitors to have an immersive experience of aspects of culture and heritage of Yoruba people, Professor Soyinka has advised that the 15-man troupe members have a second presentation in Abeokuta, Ogun State on 23 March.”
The guest will also tour cultural and heritage sites, including the Olumo Tourism sites and the Adiire market in Itoku, among others. They will be accompanied by a few other officials from the embassy, including chaperons from Providus Bank and the Culture Advocates Caucus.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
