Programme director
Honoured guests
Ladies and gentlemen
I am honoured to be part of this special occasion, of the Iftaar dinner. To Muslims across the world, the holy month of Ramadan is a time of intense devotion and reflection. It is a time of service and support for those in need and a time for family and friends to come together in a celebration of their faith, their communities, and the common humanity that we all share.
Indeed, this a time for all of us to recommit ourselves to the work of building better communities and a better world. It is in this spirit that we have gathered here this evening. This understanding, that has brought us here together, continues to guide the work of the Turquoise Harmony Institute. We fully identify with the objective that you have set for yourselves, that of fostering relations among different faith and cultural traditions.
We applaud the work you are doing to contribute to the well being of humanity by, among others, encouraging the exchange of views and promoting tolerance and understanding among the peoples of the world. By doing all of these things you are making an enormous contribution towards the objective of promoting sound people to people relations.
It is these relations that can build long lasting bridges among the peoples of the world and foster a better understanding and appreciation of the reality that, despite our diversity, we share a common destiny. Your work and contribution in society, shows that you have embraced fully the spirit of Ubuntu, which teaches us that: you are because I am, and which is among the many things we as South Africans will be celebrating during this month, which we have declared Heritage Month.
We also applaud the work you are doing to promote particularly sound relations between the peoples of South Africa and Turkey. We note with appreciation the fact that Turkey is one of South Africa’s leading trade and investment partners in Central and Eastern Europe. We are also encouraged by the economic successes you have recorded, especially in recent times.
We hope to learn from your experiences, as we endeavour to respond comprehensively to some of the economic challenges facing our country. I am hopeful that through improved and stronger relations among ourselves we will together advance towards the noble objective a shared prosperity.
Let the dialogue continue, and I wish you all a blessed Ramadan. For now, I think we can all enjoy the feast.
Thank you.
Issued by: Department of Arts and Culture
5 September 2009
Source: Department of Arts and Culture (http://www.dac.gov.za/)
