Programme director
The Chairperson and Editor of New Agenda, Prof Ben Turok
Deputy Editor Dr Soko
Honourable members
Distinguished guests
We are gathered to celebrate a critical milestone in the promotion of progressive thought in our country, the celebration of 10 years of the journal, New Agenda.
For a decade, this journal has been true to its mission to engage and advance progressive ideas on social and economic issues in South Africa and the continent.
We commend the team of dedicated men and women, under the leadership of Professors Ben Turok and Mills Soko, who have ably steered this project. It is thanks to their foresight that South Africa now has an intellectual platform of the kind of New Agenda.
This is indeed a great achievement. It is a tribute to the achievements that we have made as a nation in our pursuit of the complete emancipation of our people.
Ladies and gentlemen, robust and vibrant debate and engagement builds a nation. The media is a powerful platform for such engagement, and must be a mirror of the society it operates in.
Clause 16 of our Constitution enshrines the right to freedom of expression.
It states that everyone has the right to freedom of expression, which includes:
* freedom of the press and other media
* freedom to receive or impart information or ideas
* freedom of artistic creativity
* academic freedom and freedom of scientific research.
The celebration of the anniversary of journals such as New Agenda is a celebration of that clause and those freedoms. It reminds us that we all have a right to express ourselves by any means as long as this does not amongst others, incite racial hatred, violence and other negative tendencies.
We need to use that provision and create instruments that will encourage us to develop new ideas to improve the quality of life of our people. These could be newspapers, magazines, electronic media or research journals.
We all know that the media arena is a highly contested terrain in our country. It is dominated by various interests who push their own viewpoints and world view. While not treading upon the right of media owners and practitioners to push their own world view, we would urge that they also open up the space for various perspectives to be heard in order to enrich the public discourse in our country.
We have to promote diversity in our media industry and the more voices the better, especially if they bring different perspectives. This journal helps us to achieve that goal. We need diversity of ownership, staffing and content including language, before we can say we have media products that truly reflect South African society.
The advantage of research journals such as New Agenda is that they are able to portray South Africa truthfully as a success story. Solutions are presented to deal with any challenges, with the sole purpose of taking the country forward. This journal tackles a wide range of issues affecting South Africa, the African continent and the global community.
It has sharpened our understanding of the forces that shape our world. It has provided a platform for crucial policy positions of government to be explained, considered and interrogated. It is also important that this journal provides an opportunity for us to challenge stereotypes about our continent.
We often emphasise the need for Africa to be presented constructively and objectively to the world, as a continent that is making a lot of progress, despite facing many challenges.
One of Africa's most distinguished writers, Chinua Achebe, said:
"People go to Africa and confirm what they already have in their heads and so they fail to see what is there in front of them. This is what people have come to expect.
"It's not viewed as a serious continent. It's a place of strange, bizarre and illogical things, where people don't do what common sense demands.”
We must not allow our continent to be put down by anybody. Africa is re-emerging as a future growth centre, and is developing political and economic ties with new partners. With its substantial natural resources, Africa is a very important region in the 21st century.
Journals like New Agenda have a crucial role to play in helping to shape our thinking on these questions, to assist Africa's developmental agenda, without necessarily glossing over mistakes made in the continent.
New Agenda should continue to grow, broaden its readership, and expand its influence. It should pursue interaction with progressive thinkers across the continent and the globe, seeking to apply new solutions to old challenges.
We should recall the words of one of our revered African leaders, the late President Mwalimu Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, when he said:
"Intellectuals have a special contribution to make to the development of our nation, and to Africa. And I am asking that their knowledge, and the greater understanding that they should possess, should be used for the benefit of the society of which we are all members."
As it celebrates 10 years of existence, New Agenda should continue to provide us with valuable insight as we seek to improve the lives of our people.
Inspired by progressive journals such as this one, as a country we must formulate and drive a new agenda. Like this journal we must lose focus of the important relationship between theory and practice, policy and action.
Let use ideas to change the lives of our people.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Once more, I congratulate and thank all people who have made New Agenda a resounding success over the years.
I thank you.
Issued by: The Presidency
27 May 2010
Source: The Presidency (http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/)
