Our heritage is unique and precious and it cannot be renewed. It helps us to define our cultural identity and therefore lies at the heart of our spiritual well being and has the power to build our nation. It has the potential to affirm our diverse cultures and in so doing shape our national character.
Our heritage celebrates our achievements and contributes to redress past inequities. It educates, it deepens our understanding of society and encourages us to empathies with the experience of others. It facilitates healing, material, symbolic restitution and it promotes new and previously neglected research into our rich oral traditions and customs.
The 2011 Heritage Day celebration will be staged under the theme: “Celebrating the Heroes and Heroines of the Liberation Struggle in South Africa”. This celebration of our heritage takes place at the time when the Free State is gearing itself towards the hosting of the Liberation History Centenary Celebration in 2012.
Undoubtedly, the 100 years of liberation struggle in this country, marked by the formation of the oldest liberation movement in Mangaung in 1912, constitute a formidable part of the cultural and political heritage of this country and province. The following names linked to the Liberation and Cultural History in the Free State epitomises the significance of that heritage: Z R Mahabane; M T Mapikela; J S Moroka; T Mofutsanyana; S Plaatjie; Reverend Goronyane; Mantsopa Makhetha; Braam Fischer and so on.
In celebrating our heritage in the Free State the following objectives will be primary:
- Creating awareness through educational programmes, dialogues and public engagements on the importance of Liberation Heritage
- Creating awareness on the importance of heritage conservation through awareness campaigns
- Promoting active participation through messages of support from political parties represented in the legislature
- Promoting heritage tourism through excursions to historical, heritage and cultural sites of significance
- Reaffirming the significance of Liberation Heritage as part of the Cultural Heritage of South Africa
- Promoting unity in diversity among all citizens of the South Africa.
In celebrating the Liberation and Cultural Heritage of the Free State the following will serve as the key highlights of the programme during the month of September:
1) Honouring the role of traditional leadership in the Free State. A graduation ceremony of 85 traditional leaders will be staged on the 16 September in Thaba Nchu
2) Schools heritage awareness workshops in Ficksburg (21 September) and Qwa Qwa (22 September) with a view to promoting the love for heritage resources amongst learners and the youth
3) Cleaning of the graves of the provincial and national liberation history heroes and heroines in Ficksburg on 23 September.
The main celebration will take place as follows:
Date: 24 September 2011
Venue: Ficksburg Showgrounds (Ficksburg/Meqheleng)
Time: 09h00
The programme of the day will be characterised by exhibitions around historical liberation struggle icons; messages from government leaders; cultural entertainment and other festivities.
Your media house is cordially invited.
Enquiries:
Tankiso Zola
Tel: 051 410 4742/4786/4719
Cell: 082 940 2392
E-mail: tankiso@sacr.fs.gov.za
Vincent Khetha
Tel: 051 410 4738
Email: khethav@sacr.fs.gov.za
