at the National Imbizo on the Transformation of the South African Heritage
Sector, Gallagher Estate, Midrand
3 December 2007
Programme Director, Ms Nkosi, Chief Executive Office (CEO) of Pansalb
IiKumkani, neeNkosi namaphakathi akhoyo
Nkosi Holomisa
CEO of National Heritage Council Adv Mancotywa
COO of National Heritage Council Dr Fikeni
Representatives of the various arts, culture and heritage institutions
Practitioners in the arts, culture and heritage sector
Officials of government and government institutions
Members of the academia
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen
Good morning!
Topic: "Arts, culture and heritage as strategic resources in the
transformation of the South African society"
Firstly I would like to congratulate the National Heritage Council (NHC) as
well as members of civil society, heritage institutions, heritage practitioners
and other stakeholders, who participated so passionately in the process of
crafting the draft Heritage Transformation Charter.
I understand from the CEO, Advocate Mancotywa, that your contributions in
conceptualising the Charter are invaluable. Well done!
South Africa emerged triumphantly from a very painful past. However, our
society is still faced with many social problems and economic challenges. The
White Paper on Arts, Culture and Heritage paints a very gloomy picture of our
situation and argues that "It is a national tragedy that we speak of a culture
of violence, in the community, in the family, against children. If culture is
the glue holding the social fabric intact, then it is evident that the centre
does not hold". This is a serious indictment of our society.
Arts, culture and heritage has always played a significant role in social
regeneration, unity and reconciliation. Therefore, transforming and building
vibrant arts, culture and heritage sector becomes one of the most important
objectives we should be pursuing as a country.
Arts, culture and heritage are important in the lives of our communities. If
used altruistically, it can help explore and heal past and current conflicts;
it can assist in restoring human dignity and build community self-esteem. The
promotion of arts, culture and heritage is integral to the quality of life of
every citizen of our country, the healing of divisions in our communities and
the regeneration of our society.
Since 1994 the government and the entire South African society have been
preoccupied with one major project which is reflected in its programmes,
policies and inscribed in the Constitution. This preoccupation has been about
social transformation in order to wipe out the legacy of colonialism and
apartheid and to strive towards social justice. This has been the main guide of
each and every sector of our society, every department of government and it is
the defining feature of our nation-building and reconstruction efforts.
The Constitution, the various Green and White Papers, a plethora of new
legislation, the Reconstruction Development Programme, the Truth and
Reconciliation Policy Programme, are all intended to achieve this ultimate
objective.
The arts, culture and heritage sector is, of course, guided by this national
agenda and national strategic priorities hence the White Paper's main focus is
the transformation of the arts, culture and heritage landscape. Minister Pallo
Jordan has on many occasions remarked that visitors to South Africa would never
believe that the majority of the people of this country, who are African, ever
lived and contributed anything to this society. Our monuments, museum contents,
libraries, archives and geographical place names are but some of the
contentious issues.
It is for this reason that the White Paper foregrounded the issue of
transformation and the establishment of agents for transformation and
co-ordination of the sector.
We are also only recently beginning to realise that arts, culture and
heritage are strategic resources which are critical in forging a sense of
national identity, self-esteem, ubuntu and social cohesion and that our
cultural industries do make a significant contribution to our Gross Domestic
Product. How we express and celebrate our culture, values, beliefs and
diversity is often at the heart of the branding of our local and national
identities. How we approach and understand our heritage shapes our image of
ourselves and the image we convey to future generations.
The Department of Arts and Culture has recently embarked on a programme of
reviewing the policy and legislation pertaining to the arts, culture and
heritage sector, after it had done an assessment of the first decade of our
democracy.
The National Heritage Council's project of developing a Transformation
Charter for the heritage sector is highly commendable. I believe it is a
serious attempt to provide a blueprint for the transformation of the sector.
Most importantly, is the people-centred approach of the research which was
conducted, the effort to reach out to all provinces and the participatory
nature of this forum with a strong presence of the civil society.
I only hope that throughout this process of developing the Heritage
Transformation Charter, the role played by women in our society and their role
in preserving and promoting our heritage will not be overlooked or
underplayed.
I have often been at pains to explain the strategic importance of arts,
culture and heritage in our society to the powers that be. Some of our
government institutions like the National Lottery have still to be convinced as
to why they should consider funding arts, culture and heritage projects and
programmes. Arts, culture and heritage should not be considered as luxuries or
entertainment for society only. They should also not be an afterthought or a
less important item in the national budget. It should be clearly understood by
government as well as society at large that arts, culture and heritage are
essential components to the social well-being, emotional health, wealth and
prosperity of our people.
In a society that is full of tensions, competing interests, demands and
opportunities, such as ours, we need to find a sanctuary for our souls and a
deeper meaning of our existence in the arts, culture and heritage of our
beloved country.
I wish you all the best in this very commendable endeavour. I hope you will
have fruitful deliberations and a very successful Indaba.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Arts and Culture
3 December 2007
Source: Department of Arts and Culture (http://www.dac.gov.za)
