We gather on this occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Freedom Charter beholden to those men and women who came together on the 26th of June 1955 at the ‘Congress of the People’ in Kliptown to craft a vision for a free and fair South Africa.
This month of June is dedicated to celebrating another important milestone on our national calendar. We have the common responsibility always to recall the events of June 16, 1976, so that the bravery and sacrifices of that generation of young people, whom Oliver Tambo was inspired to describe as young lions, should serve as an inspiration to the youth of today to work hard to contribute to the solution of the challenges they and our nation confront.
Today, 39 years later, ours is a country with a wealth of arts, cultures and languages. Our country consists of nine provinces which we have made a collective commitment to knit together into a nation united in its diversity. That challenge is at the core of the Department of Arts and Culture’s goals.
Pursuant to these goals, I can report the following provincial achievements and plans:
Arts and Culture Promotion and Development
Outcome 14
In 2014/15, the Department of Arts and Culture’s TrendSetter Youth Initiative recruited and trained 90 young people.
These young people undergone a vigorous on the job training in various facets of the arts, culture and heritage sector.
We can report that we convened a social cohesion report-back summit in Nelson Mandela Bay that was a massive success.
The attacks on foreign nationals demonstrate the need to have a proactive approach to nation building and social cohesion, particularly in hotpots around the country.
Furthermore, our social cohesion advocates programme would enable us to integrate them into our National Days programmes and have more of their involvement in our DAC programmes in order to make them relevant for people in the provinces.
Mzansi Golden Economy
Through the MGE programme, we continue to support the development of the creative economy across the country. The open calls for Public Art, Touring Ventures and Cultural Events have sparked interest, creativity, innovation and a wave of applications from the arts sector.
The Department received over a 1,000 applications and made awards to 173 projects. The provincial breakdown of these awards shows that we still have a lot of work to do to ensure that there is participation in the process by artists from the Free State, North West and Eastern Cape in particular.
Craft Imbizo
We acknowledge the challenges faced by the crafters in our country especially the ones residing in the rural areas, thus the coordination of the Crafts Izimbizo across the country in partnership with the Departments of Small Business Development and Trade and Industry.
There are opportunities for craft enterprises and organisations to get support through the MGE’s Cultural Events and Tourism Ventures under a category called “Miscellaneous”.
To date we held izimbizo in Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape, Limpopo, North West, Free State and Gauteng.
Flag in every school campaign
In our drive to instil a civic consciousness and national pride among our youth, we committed to install 22 193 flags over the MTEF cycle as part of the Department of Arts and Culture’s Flag in every School campaign.
This campaign involves, amongst others, hoisting the National Flag, the correct etiquette of singing the National Anthem, the recital of the Preamble of the Constitution by the learners, distribution of the South African hand flags and publications on national symbols as well as the CD Tool Kit on how to sing the National Anthem.
In addressing the need to popularise our African identity, we will be launching a competition for schools on the AU anthem.
The anthem has been made available to schools online to mark Africa month and we encourage our youth to learn the anthem.
Artists in schools
We have successfully implemented and expanded the Artists in schools initiative over the MTEF cycle. About R45 million over the MTEF period will be dedicated to placing arts facilitators and educators at schools around the country as part of integrating arts and culture into the school curriculum.
Heritage
Legacy projects
A number of heritage sites associated with the Khoi and San communities have been identified in the Northern Cape and a budget has been allocated. A consultation process with the San and Khoi communities to trace other heritage sites is ongoing.
In 2015/16, we will continue our work on the transformation of the heritage landscape through the Legacy Projects, including, amongst others:
- Working towards the October 2016 opening date of the Sarah Baartmann Centre of Remembrance which is located at her grave site in Hankey in the Eastern Cape.
- The renovation of Braam Fisher house in the Free State which will be completed this year.
- The completion of the Dr JL Dube project in Inanda and the Inquza Hill Museum in KwaZulu-Natal.
- Work on Winnie Mandela House, in Brandfort in the Free State.
- The National Heritage Monument in Tshwane, Gauteng.
This year we will start work on a range of new projects including Isandlwana in KwaZulu-Natal and the Khoi & San Heritage Route in Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and Western Cape
Libraries
Honourable members, there is no more important developmental policy than one oriented towards eradicating illiteracy, promoting information literacy and building a modern, efficient, and equitable library and information system.
Significant progress has been made in the past year in the provision of library and information infrastructure. We completed 13 libraries, 3 in the Eastern Cape, 4 in Gauteng, 2 in KwaZulu-Natal, 1 in Mpumalanga, 2 in the North West and 1 in the Western Cape.
In 2015/16 through the Library Conditional Grant, with a budget in excess of R1billion, we will be completing 20 more libraries in Limpopo; Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and North West.
Through the Mzansi Libraries On-Line Project funded by Bill and Mellinda Gates Foundation, the National Library South Africa have installed IT equipment to 27 libraries composed of 20 computers, 10 E-Readers, 10 Tablets, 1 Printer and 1 Scanner.
This means that our communities, visually impaired people and children are connected to the World.
The 2014 and 2015 World Book Day took place in Northern Cape and Gauteng, on 22-23 April, respectively.
We conducted door to door reading awareness campaigns and we donated 12 400 books to schools, households, old age homes and correctional services.
International Federation of Libraries Conference and Assembly (IFLA)
We are preparing to host the 81st International Federation of Libraries Conference and Assembly (IFLA) in August 2015, which will be held in Cape Town, under the theme “Dynamic Libraries: Access, Development and Transformation”. This conference will attract +- 3000 librarians from Africa and worldwide.
Given the need to establish a clear model for the establishment of the National Art Bank, a detailed study was conducted to identify the most appropriate institutional model for the project and to develop key processes and policies such as the commissioning and procurement of art work.
Based on this study, the National Museum in Bloemfontein, which houses the Oliewenhuis Art Museum, was identified as the most appropriate host in the pilot phase of the organisation.
This year we will begin procuring art works that will be exhibited to prospective renters.
Creative Arts Incubators
Last year we announced that we would be embarking on strategy to launch Creative Arts Incubators. To date we have launched 3 incubators. These are the Casterbridge Academy in Mpumalamga on 10 April, the PACOFS incubator in the Free State on May 15, and Artscape in the Western Cape on May 18.
On May 20, we launched the State Theatre and this month the Market Theatre and Playhouse Company incubators will be launched in Gauteng. The total number of individuals incubated is 408.
These incubators are a very important tool to ensure that we create local content and unleash the economic potential of the creative sector.
Language development is one of the most important aspects of our work, and when we introduced the Language Policy Framework in 2003, it was clear that we needed to make a major investment in our future language professionals. Since we initiated the programme, we have supported a large number of students that have studied indigenous language and sign language at universities all over the country.
This year, the following universities will offer these bursaries for the next 3 years; the University of Limpopo, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, North West University,
the University of the Witwatersrand, UNISA and the University of the Western Cape.
National Archives
Given the importance of archives as a repository of the collective memory of the nation, recapitalising the National Archives will be one of our national priorities this year. We are presently dealing with the funding implications of this project through our budget reprioritisation process.
In this regard, we are in the second year of rolling out a trial digitisation project. This is a first for the archives and we can report that the first phase of the digitisation process has been successfully executed.
We also plan to launch the automated archives system in the coming weeks as part of the department’s capital works project.
During the celebration of the World Day for Audio Visual Heritage, we renamed the Craigilea Building as Dolly Rathebe Building, Milkboard Building utiilised by National Film Video and Sound Archives renamed as Ken Gampu Film Preservation Centre.
This year the 12th Annual Oral History Conference will be held in KwaZulu-Natal. This conference has been rotated across all provinces to make sure that we engage with all communities across the length and breadth of the country.
We hosted the Zwakala Awards in February 2015 wherein 88 Children with impaired hearing from 11 African Countries participated.
Flagship events
In 2014/15, the DAC supported 22 national and regional flagship events including the National Arts Festival and Cape Town international Jazz Festival, and a range of regional festivals as such the Kalahari Desert Festival in the Northern Cape, Mpumalanga Comes Alive in Mpumalanga, MACUFE in the Free State and the Marula Festival in Limpopo.
These events are catalysts for economic development given that artists are reliant on events for income and economic sustainability.
Through an ongoing monitoring and evaluation programme, using surveys and other instruments, the DAC has been able to determine the impact of these some of these events on the local economy.
Institutional Governance
Over 80% of the DAC’s annual budget allocation is transferred to 26 public entities. The governance and monitoring of the work of these entities is a major focus of efforts in the Department.
In the year under review, a sector-wide strategic planning framework developed in 2013/14 was implemented (through) a series of sector-based workshops that culminated in a large strategic planning session involving the DAC, its entities and provincial government departments.
In refining this process, a series of indicators for each sector were developed, including a baseline report which provides baseline data on each of the indicators identified. In support of good governance, the boards/councils of 12 public entities were reconstituted and inducted in the year under review.
Moreover, shareholder compacts were signed with all entities to ensure alignment of their programmes with the Minister’s performance agreement. Furthermore, a series of forums were held for Chief Financial Officers and Chief Executive Officers, as well as occasions for the Minister to meet with the Chairpersons of the institutions’ boards to facilitate reporting and engagement on shared issues.
Cultural Diplomacy Programme
Africa Month
Africa Month, a massive showcase of Africa in South Africa has just concluded, and I am proud to say that each and every province hosted at least one event that was part of the Africa Month programme; and we look forward to building on this legacy in the 2016 edition.
The Africa month programme is a festival of ideas expressed through cultural and artistic exchange. It is about using the African Cultural Renaissance Charter to promote AU Agenda 2063 for the integration of the continent.
This is a wholesome integration on socio, political, cultural and economic matters.
Our theme is 'We Are Africa: Opening the doors of learning and culture for peace and friendship from Cape to Cairo'.
Africa Month programme will be an annual event whose overall objective is to educate our people about the continent and the Diaspora.
White Paper on Arts and Culture
We are in the process of engaging in substantive consultations with stakeholders and interested parties in all nine provinces as part of the process of reviewing the White Paper on Arts and Culture. We have already conducted workshops in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape.
The process of consultation in all remaining provinces will continue till September. Post-September we will write up the first draft of the White Paper for public comment.
Once public inputs have been made we will write up a final draft to be tabled to Cabinet early next year. The parliamentary processes can then take place.
In conclusion, our appreciation of the developmental role of government in moulding a cohesive and responsible citizenry is in our appreciation of the role of learning and culture as transmitters of our history and heritage.
Honourable members, our goal has always been (and remains) the transformation of our society into a prosperous and socially cohesive nation. Our hard-won freedom has set us on this path.
I thank you!
