The Head of Department (HOD) Mrs CN Khumalo
The General Manager: Library Services, Archives and Museum Mrs ES Nzimande
All Managers present
Museum practitioners
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
It is with excitement that I address you during this day at our first celebration together of International Museums Day. I must say that I have learnt a lot about museums since our Premier Dr Zweli Mkhize decided to bring this component back home to the Department of Arts and Culture.
Sixteen years into our hard earned democracy, it is no secret that our country still faces a number of challenges towards the achievement of social harmony. It is for this reason that the theme for this year Museums for Social Harmony becomes even more relevant.
Over the past 16 years our country has earned international respect for being the only African country to achieve a smooth transition between apartheid rules into a democratic government. We are known internationally as the rainbow nation for our ability to put aside our differences and live side by side as South Africans. It is therefore with great concern that we have witnessed incidents that seek to test us as a nation on our commitment to social harmony and indeed social cohesion.
We must commend the International Council of Museum (ICOM) for choosing an appropriate theme for this historic year on the African continent when we host for the first time the FIFA World Cup. During the tournament the world will descend on our shores and as a nation we must be ready to show them that indeed we live together side by side in harmony.
In choosing this theme, the ICOM is recognising the need for the urgent safeguarding of our cultural diversity and common heritage as the global community. Museums are indeed important role players as mediators in the transformation of societies and the promotion of social harmony.
In recent weeks our country has again demonstrated its unwavering resistance to divisive elements when racial tension sought to rear its ugly head pitting black against white. Our handling of these matters again demonstrated to the world that our democracy has indeed matured.
Museums are well placed to play this mediating role. As apolitical organisations, museums have an exclusive duty to educate our communities about a nation’s past, present and indeed future in a manner that contributes to social cohesion. Museums are indeed a mirror that reflects the heart and soul of any nation. As a democracy in its teenage years, we must utilise museums properly and effectively in order to unleash their great potential in building cohesive societies by promoting tolerance, multiculturalism and social harmony.
One of the biggest challenges that we must deal with as stakeholders is to ensure that museum practitioners do not sit in their comfort zones and allow the status quo to prevail. We must go out into our communities and educate them about museums and their role in society. It would also be very easy for museums to hide behind scientific norms and standards that allow museum practitioners to distance themselves from what is happening around them. As museums we cannot distance ourselves from the communities we serve.
The fact that 16 years down the line most of the transformation that we want to see in most of our museums has not taken place is proof that much work still needs to be done. We are not here today to lament what could have been but we are here to say that as museums we must take our rightful place in society. We are here to emphasise that we are active participants in dealing with all the challenges facing our communities and not standing by as spectators.
We must confront the fact that museum practitioners are themselves sometimes ignorant of social issues around them. We must therefore resolve to reverse this challenge. We must use the spaces at our disposal effectively to benefit the communities we serve. As museums we must be wary of being satisfied by the collections, displays and historical themes brought to us but we must go out into our communities and enrich our content.
The Department of Arts and Culture is also home to the Archives service and I hope that these components, under the same chief directorate do find areas of cooperation. The content of our museums cannot depend on the Curator, but our communities must have an input. On programmes such as the oral history project and the family history project, the two components must continue their collaboration.
We know that those who have dared to venture outside of their comfort zones have been rewarded with increased visitor numbers and diversified audiences. We must work to ensure that this is true for all our museums.
In conclusion, in less than a month our country will be hosting the most spectacular soccer tournament the 2010 FIFA World Cup. This event presents a once in a lifetime opportunity for our generation museums must ensure, together with archives, that future generations experience what many of us are feeling today.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Arts, Culture, Sport and Recreation, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
18 May 2010
