Honoured guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Good morning, goeie more, molweni
It is indeed for me an honour to be addressing you here today. Language, culture and religion play an important role in the lives of any community. Through its mere nature it brings people together around a common interest. It further creates an alternative to the some of the issues which our communities face on a daily basis. It not only creates an alternative to keep our children off the streets but also provides solutions to social problems that are not alien to the community.
However, culture, religion and language have the potential to divide communities if it not managed with great care. If their promotion and development by the communities themselves as well as the government is administered wisely it can and will serve as a binding force to unite our communities.
Over the past 15 years of democracy a number of changes have taken place throughout this country. Although we are well on route to establishing a truly democratic dispensation, we are however still falling short of giving true recognition to the diversity of cultural, religious and linguistic communities in our country.
Apartheid and colonialism have left a permanent mark on our country’s cultural religious and linguistic landscape. Its scars dug deep in ensuring that the traditions, practices and even languages of many communities were depleted and in many cases totally eradicated. Which begs the question: How then does one revitalise a language such as Nama or some San languages, which is dying a slow death?
This ladies and gentlemen, is where the work of this commission comes in. Their work, which is governed by Section 186 of the Constitution, will ensure that respect for and the further protection of the rights of cultural, religious and linguistic communities are promoted, while at the same time creating an environment for communities to develop their historically diminished heritage.
I was particularly heartened by the fact that the commission is charged to establish community councils for the preservation, promotion and protection of cultures, religions and languages. My reason being that the Western Cape Cultural Commission already has such councils registered with it and I am sure that this common aim will go far in strengthening cooperation between these two bodies.
Such community councils, ladies and gentlemen, will be the backbone of all the work that needs to be done to achieve our common goal, because underlying our democratic dispensation is the notion that people should be enabled to do things themselves without being prescribed to by others.
I therefore express the sincere desire that today’s event will open the door to many opportunities for the people and communities of our country to rediscover the pride in what is unique to them so that they can regain their human dignity and participate fully in the creation of our democracy. I say this in the knowledge that culture, religion and language lie at the core of everything we do as human beings.
I therefore wish you the best with your launch today and look forward to further deliberations with this commission, as well as being a witness to the fruits of your labour.
I thank you, baie dankie, enkosi.
