CULTURAL YOUTH FESTIVALS AND STUDENT DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Holistic student development in institutions of higher learning has become a serious issue and cultural youth festivals are becoming the source of concern to such events. These festivals celebrate both traditional and modern forms of art besides offering the students a chance to develop life-needed skills like, teamwork, leadership, creativity, communication, and cultural awareness among others. The paper focuses on the diversity of inter-university youth festivals positive impulse on students development and it especially studies the involvement and the way it takes effect on a personal, academic and social growth of a student. A mixed-methods research technique was deployed to collect the data by use of structured questionnaires and interviews on a sample of student participants, faculty to coordinate, and the organizers in the selected universities. Statistically, it was shown that there is a positive relationship between active participation in cultural activities and the improvement of soft skills, and qualitatively, the importance of these festivals as conducive of inclusivity, integration of the nation and building of confidence was mentioned. Instructional support and structured cultural programming used in defining well-rounded individuals have been emphasized in the findings. The study suggests that universities should make deliberate attempt to include professionally presented cultural festivals in their co- curriculum plan as a way of fostering intellectual, emotional and cultural aspect of the students life