When a Name Becomes a Welcome: The Empaako Experience at Routes & Roots Festival

FORT PORTAL, UGANDA — In Tooro, a visitor can arrive as a stranger and leave with something more lasting than a photograph or souvenir: a deeper connection to the people and culture of the region.

That connection is at the heart of the Empaako experience, one of the cultural encounters being brought into focus through the Routes & Roots Festival 2026, taking place from 29–31 October in Fort Portal Tourism City.

Set against the green landscapes of Tooro and the backdrop of the Rwenzori Mountains, the festival is positioning culture not simply as entertainment, but as an experience through which visitors can meet communities, understand traditions and discover the stories that shape a destination.

At the centre of this approach is a simple idea: A journey becomes more meaningful when you connect with the people and heritage of the place you visit.

A Different Kind of Welcome

For a traveller arriving in Tooro, the first encounter may be with the landscape — the hills, crater lakes, forests, National Parks and farms & more that have helped make the region one of Uganda's distinctive tourism destinations.

But beyond the scenery is another attraction: its living cultural heritage.

In a traditional setting, a visitor may be welcomed through conversation, music, food and storytelling before being introduced to the significance of Empaako, a praise name system associated with the Batooro and neighbouring communities.

Rather than functioning simply as a name, Empaako carries social and cultural meaning. It can be used to express respect, affection and a sense of relationship between people.

Names including Akiiki, Abwoli, Ateenyi among others, form part of this wider cultural naming tradition.

For visitors encountering the tradition for the first time, the experience can offer an intimate introduction to how language and identity are connected within Tooro society.

Culture Beyond the Stage

This approach reflects a broader ambition of Routes & Roots Festival.

The inaugural festival is being developed around three interconnected areas heritage, music and tourism with the aim of bringing visitors into direct contact with the destination rather than limiting their experience to performances on a festival stage.

A cultural encounter may involve sitting with elders, listening to oral histories, learning about traditional practices, tasting local food or taking part in activities that connect visitors with the community.

Culture is not simply something to watch. It is something to understand, respect and experience.

That philosophy also creates opportunities for different generations to participate.

Elders remain custodians of knowledge and oral traditions. Young people become participants in preserving and presenting their heritage. Local artists, cultural practitioners, guides, food producers and tourism businesses become part of a wider visitor economy.

Protecting Living Heritage

The importance of Empaako extends beyond tourism. The tradition is recognised by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage, highlighting its cultural significance and the need for communities to sustain it across generations.

Like many forms of intangible heritage, however, its continuity depends on active transmission.

As communities change and younger generations navigate an increasingly globalised world, cultural practices require spaces where knowledge can be shared, practised and understood.

This is where cultural festivals can play a role. When thoughtfully developed, they can create opportunities for cultural custodians to share knowledge while allowing visitors to encounter traditions within their proper social and cultural context.

Routes & Roots aims to contribute to that process by placing local culture and community participation at the centre of the festival experience.

A Festival That Connects the Journey

The concept extends beyond the festival grounds. Visitors travelling to Fort Portal can combine the festival with experiences across Tooro exploring the region's cultural heritage, crater lakes, landscapes, food, communities and other tourism attractions.

The result is intended to be a broader destination experience rather than a single event visit.

For an international traveller, that could mean arriving in Uganda for a festival and leaving with a much deeper understanding of one of its cultural regions.

For a domestic traveller, it could mean rediscovering a part of the country through a different lens.

And for local communities, it presents an opportunity to participate in tourism while sharing the heritage that gives the destination its identity.

More Than a Festival

Routes & Roots Festival takes place under the theme “Different Routes. Shared Roots.”

The theme speaks to the diverse journeys that bring people together different backgrounds, different destinations and different reasons for travelling. while recognising the shared human connections that emerge through culture.

The Empaako experience captures that idea particularly well.

A visitor may arrive from Kampala, Nairobi, London, Berlin or somewhere much farther away.

They may come for music.

They may come for food.

They may come for adventure.

They may come simply to discover Tooro.

But through an encounter with its people and traditions, the journey can become something more personal.

A conversation can become a memory.

A meal can become a story.

A cultural practice can become a new understanding of place.

And a name can become a reminder of a welcome received thousands of kilometres from home.

Come With a Route. Leave With a Root.

For Routes & Roots Festival, that is the larger purpose of bringing culture, music and tourism together.

Not simply to bring people to Tooro, but to help them connect with it.

From 29–31 October 2026, Fort Portal will welcome visitors for three days of cultural experiences, music, heritage, tourism and community connection at Lake Saaka Recreation Centre.

The invitation is simple:

Come curious.

Come ready to listen.

Come ready to experience.

And leave with more than a festival memory.

Leave with a story from Tooro.

Routes & Roots Festival 2026
29–31 October 2026
Lake Saaka Recreation Centre | Fort Portal Tourism City | Tooro, Uganda

DIFFERENT ROUTES. SHARED ROOTS.

Come with a route. Leave with a root.