The organising committee for Derik Cultural Festival encourages the public to participate in the ongoing activities and functions of the annual event to remember the late Derik Uya Alfred.
The seven-day cultural festival kicked off on Thursday at the University of Juba, and will end on November 18th.
The festival is in memory of late artist Derik, the former director of Kuwato Cultural Center and Troupe, who died in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on 19th October 2021.
The committee invites the public to engage in the fields of theater, fine arts, creative writing, and film-making that started on Thursday and will go on for the next six days.
Atem Simon Mabior, the president of the second edition of the festival said the committee is preparing to launch a prize in the name of the late Derik.
“The festival is the brainchild of Derik’s disciples, colleagues, and friends who are active in the field of culture and have great respect for the late,” Simon said.
“They (artists) shared with him an ambitious project that is based on strong beliefs in the importance of culture and creativity in forming collective consciousness and the construction of national identity.”
Derik Uya Alfred passed away at 59, after a long journey of selfless efforts in the various fields of culture and drama in Sudan and South Sudan.
Before then, he became famous during his management of the Kuwato Cultural group, a model known for its campaign for a peaceful coexistence between the components of Sudanese society in the north and south – in the nineties.

According to Mabior, organising the second edition of this year’s festival is the best gratitude and continuation of his noble action.
“The festival is a true embodiment of the commitment to keep the fire of the project burning. Thus, organising an annual festival in memory of the late and building on his vision, and ideas, and continuing his project is the best gratitude and continuation of his noble action.”
