A gifted storyteller with a compelling stage presence, he is a living, breathing Encyclopedia of Uganda’s art, culture, food, and dance. With a Ph.D. in African Music and Cultural Studies, he has spent decades promoting and preserving Uganda’s traditional music, dance, and storytelling. He is a teacher turned rural agricultural economist and served as the Director of the Uganda National Theatre and Cultural Centre from 1990 to 1994. He founded the Ndere Cultural Centre from an underground garage at the YMCA when teaching young people to use drums and dances, was close to an abomination. He has nurtured a generation of talented dancers, artists, and linguists, and Ndere Centre is a platform for young people to showcase their traditional art to the fast-changing world. In due process, he has bridged the gap between generations and preserved Uganda’s heritage. Ndere today is a bee hive of activity frequented by representatives of most nations in the world each weekend. His passion for culture has brought him international recognition, helping revive fading Ugandan culture and art countrywide. A seasoned actor with features in household movies like The Last King of Scotland (2006), War Dance (2007), and Cultures of Resistance (2010),

His name is Dr. Stephen Rwangyezi and he is 70 years old this year. The key lesson to the youth from Rwangyezi’s story is ‘learn to pick an opportunity where people see none”. Culture as a business or a way of making a living wasn’t highly regarded till he and