The Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) in partnership with KwaZulu-Natal provincial government will host the 2014 Day of Reconciliation on Tuesday, 16 December 2014. The event will take place at Ncome Museum, near Dundee in the UMzinyathi District Municipality.
The 2014 Reconciliation Month will be celebrated under the theme, “Social Cohesion, Reconciliation and National Unity in the 20 years of Democracy”. President Jacob Zuma will deliver a key note address at this historic event.
The Day of Reconciliation can be traced back to the Battle of “Blood River / Impi ya se Ncome” between the Voortrekkers and AmaZulu in 1838. Before 1994, 16 December was either commemorated as the Day of the Covenant; the Day of the Vow or Dingane’s Day - a manifestation of the apartheid system.
During the negotiations that preceded the achievement of our freedom, the new government began to envision a new democratic political dispensation whose defining character would be reconciliation, peace and unity.
The Government of National Unity decided to dedicate and rename this day as the Day of Reconciliation. The purpose of this decision was to reconcile the people and build a new nation. The declaration of the Day of Reconciliation was therefore one of the steps taken by post-apartheid South Africa to create harmony and unity.
The Department of Arts and Culture has built a bridge between the Ncome Museum and Blood River Monument (situated on either side of Ncome River) to initiate a process of the removal of racial and social barriers between the different population groups. The bridge connects the two institutions and serves as a positive gesture of reconciliation.
Government is committed to play its role to ensure that commemorative events and sites create opportunities for different people to interact, learn about one another and commit to the common objective of creating a proud and caring nation. We need to transform these sites into places of peace and unity. This year, the Day of Reconciliation will be marked by the official opening of the bridge that joins Ncome Museum and Blood River Monument.
As part of celebrating the reconciliation month and 20 Years of Freedom and Democracy, the DAC will host several events leading up to the Day of Reconciliation. These events form part of the department’s promote nation building and social cohesion and to ensure the participation of all our people in striving for reconciliation and recognition within our rich cultural history.
Date: Wednesday, 10 December 2014
Time: 11h00
Event: Imbizo with veterans in the arts and culture sector
Venue: Market Theatre
Date: Thursday, 11 December 2014
Time: 18h00
Event: Gala Dinner to honour arts and culture veterans
Venue: Sandton Convention Centre
Date: Monday, 15 December 2014
Event: Ncome Museum Kusinwa kudedelwane Dance Competition.
Categories: isigegkle, Mohobelo, Mokgibo, Isicathamiya, Ingoma, Isishameni and Indlamu
Venue: Ncome Museum
Date: Monday, 15 December 2014
Event: Social Cohesion Dialogue
Venue: Ncome Museum
Date: Tuesday, 16 December 2014
Event: The Day of Reconciliation
Venue: Ncome Museum
Enquiries:
Sandile Memela
Cell: 082 800 3750
E-mail: SandileM@dac.gov.za
