Honourable Chairperson of the NCOP
Minister of Arts and Culture, Comrade Paul Mashatile,Hon Min Mbalula,other Ministers and Deputy Ministers
Chairperson of the Select Committee for Education, Arts and Culture and Members of the Committee
Honourable Members of the NCOP
The Director-General of the Department of Arts and Culture, Mr Sibusiso Xaba and senior officials from the department
Chairpersons of our Boards and Councils
Ladies and gentlemen.
Introduction
This week on Monday, 3 June we launched National Youth Month under the theme “Working together for Youth Development and a Drug Free South Africa”. At the Hector Peterson Memorial in Soweto.
As we commemorate Youth Month, we are reminded of the words of the founding father of our nation President Nelson Mandela, who said: “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”
The commemoration of his year’s Youth Day will be hosted in Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal, on 16 June.
The Department of Arts and Culture, will host My Education History Tours in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Gauteng; to highlight the historic and heritage importance of 16 June.
An Arts, Culture, Heritage Youth Imbizo will also be convened in the Free State.
Chairperson, we will continue to invest in the development of young people in our sector.
This we will do as part of ensuring the sustainability of our sector and to take our young people away from social ills such as drugs and alcohol abuse.
Social Cohesion and Nation building
Chairperson in pursuit of our strategic goal of building an inclusive society, the Department of Arts and Culture continues to popularise national symbols.
In particular, this year, the Bureau of Heraldry will focus on the promotion of the National Anthem in Institutions of Higher Learning. This project will be launched in June during Youth Month.
Last week the Bureau of Heraldry marked 50 years of its existence.
There are many highlights in its 50 years of existence, including the design of the National Flag we all embrace today and the transformation of all national symbols including the symbols of parliament.
National Days
Chairperson, Cabinet took a decision that all National Days must be coordinated and managed by the Department of Arts and Culture.
This was in line with the understanding that National Days are a critical component of our ongoing efforts to promote patriotism, national unity, social cohesion and national healing.
We are in the process of reviewing the way we celebrate our national days. It is envisaged that the outcome of this process will be National Days that are celebrated in a manner inclusive of all South Africans.
This year we successfully hosted Freedom Day and Human Rights Day.
On 18 July we will host Nelson Mandela Day in Umtata, in the Eastern Cape; coinciding with the 95th birthday of Tata Madiba.
The National Heritage Day, which falls on the 24th September, will also be held in Eastern Cape this year.
The Day of Reconciliation will be celebrated with the Centenary of the Union Building on 16 December this year in Pretoria.
Chairperson, following the National Summit on Social Cohesion in July last year, we will intensify our hosting of community conversations and dialogues around the country.
These conversations will form part of our mobilisation campaign towards the 20th Anniversary of Freedom and Democracy.
The Mzansi Golden Economy
Chairperson, with regards to the Mzansi Golden Economy Strategy we wish to reassert that Arts, Culture and the creative Industries have been part and parcel of human economic activity and trade from time immemorial.
It is today an undisputed fact that many centuries ago our forebears traded in various fine arts from across the oceans.
Nothing illustrates this better than the immaculate beads , and other jeweleryfound at Mapungubwe and of course the Golden Rhino.
How else would Diamonds and gold dominate world trade for centuries if it was not due to the role of fine arts.
Other forms of Art such as paintings, crafts, still photos, music, film, drama, dance have been known to be identified with various countries.
Unfortunately the exposure of various role players on the world stage often reflected the political and economic dominance of their countries.
The Mzansi Golden Economy strategy is nothing else but our own endeavor to reclaim the place of the cultural industries as a contributor to the national economy and even as an exporter of services to other parts of the world.
We are pleased to announce that we are making progress in initiatives such as the establishment of an Art Bank: aimed at identifying and purchasing art from artists, including artists from rural areas.
We continue to provide support for major events in all provinces.
These include the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, Standard Bank Joy of Jazz in Gauteng, Mapungubwe Arts Festival in Limpopo, Buyele Khaya Pan African Music Festival in the Eastern Cape, Macufe in Free State, the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, Mbokodo Awards, Mpumalanga Comes Alive and the South African Music Awards to mention a few.
These events are estimated to have created a total of 25 000 job opportunities over the last 3 years.
Progress is also being made in the implementation of our Public Art Development Programme. This includes murals, innovative public art installations, storytelling and Street Theatre. Notable among these has been the Cape Town based “Infecting the City” initiative.
Visual arts
Last year, the department hosted the Visual Arts Indaba to discuss recommendations to grow the sector.
These recommendations will be put into action this year through the appointment of the Visual Arts Task Team and the call for participation from the sector on issues such as Artist Rights and Resale Rights.
The department will once again this year strive to partner with visual arts organisations to train more visual arts practitioners, from all provinces, in the areas of arts administration and management.
Design
The department has also identified the design industry as a strategic sector that can support the economic advancement of our people.
The design industry has the potential to create meaningful jobs. This year we will focus on policy formulation for the Sector with a view of creating a Design Strategy for the country.
Also in the pipeline is the creation of provincial Fashion hubs. A pilot Fashion hub in Kwazulu-Natal will be established by next year, with a plan of creating similar hubs in other provinces in the near future.
Libraries
Chairperson, we are pleased to announce that we continue to contribute towards improving literacy levels and knowledge development, creation and sharing through the building of community libraries.
For the next three years, we have been allocated an additional R1.1 billion towards the building of community libraries.
Since the inception of the community library conditional grant in 2007, starting with an initial capital injection of R200 million, more than 900 people have been employed, 41 new libraries have been built, and 244 existing buildings have been upgraded.
In the 2013/14 financial year, we plan to build 16 new libraries and upgrade 40 existing libraries.
Heritage
We continue to support the Historic Schools Project which includes, amongst others, the refurbishment of Adams College, in KwaZulu-Natal as part of its 160 years anniversary, the University of Fort Hare which will be celebrating 100 years in 2016. We will work with these historic institutions as they celebrate these milestones.
We have tasked the National Heritage Council to work on the Nkonkobe Heritage University Town Project in Grahamstown together with Amathole District Municipality.
As part of restoration of human dignity and preserving our history and heritage, we are renovating graves of those who are buried in the concentration camps, throughout the country.
Languages
Chairperson in a major development towards advancing multilingualism, last year the Use of official Languages Bill was passed into law.
The Act allows South Africans to access government services in the languages of their choice.
Central to the implementation of this Act is the role of provinces, whom we will continue to support as they finalize their language policies.
We are also working with all national governments departments and parastatals to help them with the implementation of the Act, especially the establishment of national language units.
Conclusion
As I conclude let me reiterate the vision spelt out by the National Development Plan.
“In 2030 South Africans will be more conscious of the things they have in common than their differences. Their lived experiences will progressively undermine and cut across the divisions of race, gender, space and class. The nation will be more accepting of people’s multiple identities.”
Chairperson it is this vision that continues to inspire the work we do as the Department of Arts and Culture.
I wish to thank the Chairperson and Members Select Committee for their oversight work, MECs, officials from the Department and all our stakeholders for ensuring that we remain focused on this vision.
Thank you.
