The first edition of the Upper Balong Youth Festival ran from 20 July to 17 August in Manyemen. It was organized with funds donated by Upper Balong elites in the country and abroad.
The organizing committee co-chaired by Ta Ndumbe Martin Ayuk of Talangaye and Ta Ebune Philip Ayuk of Baro, included representatives of the eight Upper Balong villages, that is Ayong, Baro, Betock, Ebanga, Manyemen, Oserayip, Sikam and Talangaye. The General Coordination and Chief Operations Officer of the youth festival was Ta Sone Bayen, a notable of Manyemen, who conceived the idea for the festival.
Activities included football for boys and girls, marathon, Miss Upper Balong, teaching youths how to cook traditional meals, speak the local language and sing and dance traditional songs.
Music by Upper Balong pop musicians Ebeny Amstrong in the United States and Tina Tong in Germany was played abundantly during the festival and Chu Bikeng Lato who is resident in the country, performed live during major activities of the festival.
The football tournament of the festival was won by Manyemen for the boys and Ebanga for the girls.
Free calculators and Math sets donated by Upper Balong elites were distributed to school children by the President of Upper Balong Teachers’ Association (UBTA), Dr Basua A.A. Emmanuel.
Another high point of the Upper Balong Youth Festival was the Presentation of Ekatih Eyong-Etok, a new book on how to speak and write Kitchui, the Upper Balong language authored by Dr Tabi Elias Mbi, a director at the Telecommunications Regulatory Board in Yaounde.
