Programme Director
MEC for Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture, Mrs Xoliswa Tom
MECs from other provinces
Members of the Provincial Legislature
Executive Mayors and Mayors present here
Deputy Chairperson of National Arts Festival Board
Artists present here
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen.
Molweni
I bring you warm greetings from the people of the Eastern Cape, the Home of Legends.
We meet here this evening at a difficult time when our First President of a democratic South Africa, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, and world icon uTata uNelson Mandela is still receiving medical care in Pretoria. Today eighteen days since Madiba was admitted to hospital, we join millions in our country and across the globe in continuing to pray for the full recovery of our elder statesman. His work and dedication to the noble cause of a just society is one of the reasons we are gathered her today to celebrate our arts.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me take you on a journey to 26 June 1955. On that historic day fifty eight years ago more than three thousand delegates from across South Africa and from across all its races gathered in Kliptown at the Congress of the People to adopt the Freedom Charter.
At that Congress, on this very day, the guiding vision in the Freedom Charter clearly articulated that the doors of learning and culture shall be open to all the people. During South Africa’s dark years under apartheid, it was this principle of the Freedom Charter which led South Africans to challenge the nationalist party’s racially exclusive performing arts councils.
In fact, the Freedom Charter formed the basis which informed Article 27 of the South African constitution which relates specifically to how all South African cultures will be treated equally and also to how the arts shall be made accessible to all South Africans.
Today, we are honoured to be opening the 39th edition of the National Arts Festival on the same day that the historic Freedom Charter was adopted. It is not unusual that this is happening this way. The arts in South Africa have been an integral part of contributing to our struggle for liberation prior to 1994. Many of our artists were victimised by the apartheid government and their music banned.
I am reminded of artists like Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba whose music was banned in South Africa but continued to inspire and mobilise the people of the world against the apartheid government. After our democratic elections in 1994, South African artists proactively engaged in the arts to build the rainbow nation that Madiba spoke about.
We can be proud to say that the freedoms that we enjoy today have given our artists the right to freely use the arts as tool to critique our society without the fear of being banned and / or being harassed with the provision that such freedoms are exercised with responsibility and without violating human dignity which is enshrined in our constitution.
From that long walk in 1955 to where we are today in 2013, the journey has not yet ended. We are a nation that still has the enormous responsibility of ensuring that every child in this country will have the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument or have the opportunity to paint or to stand in front of an audience and to read his / her own poetry. That is a goal that we must never give up on, no matter how challenging and insurmountable it may sometimes seem.
Programme Director; over the next 11 days the Arts Festival will give true meaning to one of the fundamental values of our young democracy that is: we are a nation that is united with its diversities. Since the dawn of democracy these values have found greater expression during this Festival.
Working together with the National Arts Festival Team and other stakeholders we have done tremendous work to transform the Arts Festival from an institution that entrenched preservation of the culture and heritage of 1 820 settlers, into a “Festival of the People”, which reflects the diversity of our South African-ness. Today the Arts Festival is no longer dominated by one race and culture, but has embraced all indigenous cultures of South Africa.
More than that it has created platforms to showcase Eastern Cape artists and performers and opened doors to international stardom for many of our artists.
As we move towards the fortieth edition of the Arts Festival which will be held next year, we must as a matter of urgency think strategically of how we can use the Festival to address the most urgent and critical challenge facing our youth and that is unemployment.
According to a recent National Treasury’s policy proposal document, the possible reasons that can explain the high rate of unemployment amongst the youth include:
- The fact that employers who are looking for skills and experienced workers regard unskilled, inexperienced job seekers as a risky investment.
- Education is not a substitute for skills. Schooling is not a reliable signal of capabilities, and low schooling quality feeds into poor workplace learning capacity
- Given the uncertainty about the potential of school leavers, employers consider entry-level wages to be too high relative to the risk of hiring inexperienced workers.
This state of affairs requires us to direct all our energies and resources to develop industries where our youth can prosper. One of these industries is the Arts. We strongly believe that arts, culture and heritage can contribute immensely to the socio-economic emancipation of our youth. We are working tirelessly to un-earth the full potential of this industry in our province focusing mainly on the youth.
Through the Eastern Cape Performing Arts Council we are building an enabling environment for our young artists to reach the pinnacle of their careers and to represent our province in National and International cultural festivals. It is painful for us to watch our youth being ravaged by alcohol and drugs which leads them to do unimaginable things, including the rape and killing of women and children.
As a Nation with a majority of young people, we must be concerned that our youth spend most of their time in taverns, instead of contributing positively to society through arts, sports, and studying. We must act now and rescue our youth, show them that the richness of South Africa’s artistic and cultural legacy is firmly in their hands.
They need to look no further than the current group of talented actors and musician gracing our television screens for inspiration, as most of them were born, schooled and raised in the Eastern Cape. The artistic talents of the artists I am referring to, have changed their lives for the better and engrained them in the hearts and minds of all South Africans.
We have as a matter of staying true to our agenda taken decisions to consistently increase our sponsor for this event to ensure that each year it lives a lasting impression by producing new artistic jewels, that will go on to mesmerise the world with their talents.
This year we increased our contribution by R680 000 to a tune of R3,680 00. 00, because realise that the National Arts Festival is growing phenomenally as a global brand that contributes in placing our province and South Africa on the international agenda and in enticing tourists and investors to come to our shores. It is our duty to put our shoulder on the wheel and support the Festival to withstand the many challenges it encounters.
The National Arts Festival is one of the key interventions aimed at delivering on our priorities of building cohesive, caring and sustainable communities. It is in that context that we do not even imagine an Eastern Cape without the National Arts Festival and we call on all South Africans to take pride in this Festival which has grown from being a seed in the dust of the Eastern Cape to a globally recognised giant of an event.
We therefore welcome all cultural performers and art enthusiasts from across our province, South Africa, Africa and the world. May your joining of this biggest celebration of cultural and artistic expression of various forms inspire you to perform beyond your wildest dreams and leave the audiences with food for thought.
We ask our Eastern Cape residents, as usual, to welcome the rest of the country and our international guests with our trademark Eastern Cape warmth and hospitality.
We have an opportunity to make them return to our province soon to share the spoils of our pristine coastline, unique flora and fona and above all the warmth of our people.
I now declare the Arts Festival of 2013 open.
