Electoral Institute of South Africa's Award Ceremony for the "Hands up for
democracy" competition, Johannesburg
20 July 2007
Mr Denis Kadima, Electoral Institute of South Africa Executive
Director
The national finalists
Distinguished guests
Teachers, parents, learners
Ladies and gentlemen
It is a great pleasure to be here this evening.
The "Hands up for democracy" competition is a very important initiative of
the Department of Education and the Electoral Institute of South Africa. It has
created an opportunity for learners to explore their understanding of
democracy.
I am particularly pleased that this award ceremony is being held at
Constitutional Hill, a place that commemorates the struggles of our past and
embodies our hopes that our young democracy will thrive and achieve the ideals
set out in our Constitution and the Freedom Charter.
Congratulations to all the finalists who have reached this stage of the
competition. I also wish to congratulate your teachers for encouraging you to
enter. It is clear that your teachers have recognised that their role as
national builders includes preparing young South Africans to be democratic
South Africans.
It is often said that young people take our hard won human rights for
granted, that they dismiss our past struggles for democracy. However, it has
become very clear from the number of entries received, I understand that there
were over two thousand entries that young South Africans do think about human
rights and democratic values and democratic practices. Learners from a young
age can express themselves on these vital issues.
One of the tasks that arise from the work you have done is the need for us
to explore how we entrench democracy in our classrooms, lecture halls and
school playgrounds.
Democracy is not something that happens overnight like the proclamation of
independence or the end of a war. The lengthy process of negotiating our
Constitution illustrates this. It was a detailed and lengthy process of give
and take, creativity and selecting the best from the world. It is clear that
even when the structures of free elections, open legislatures and independent
courts have been established, it is the values and practices that make those
institutions work that need to be shaped and formed in our homes and in our
schools.
One of the ways in which the curriculum supports our schools in promoting
democratic values and practices is through remembering, celebrating and
commemorating key moments from past struggles.
We have called on all schools to engage in the commemoration of a number of
historically significant events in 2007. This is part of our task of ensuring
our shared history is known and that the role of all communities in struggle is
recognised.
The events include the commemoration of the ninth anniversary of the sinking
of the SS Mendi on 21 February 1917 and the 16th anniversary of the Three
Doctors' Pact signed on 9 March 1947, the 15th anniversary of the Alexandra Bus
Boycott and the fifth anniversary of the launch of the African Union (AU) in
Durban.
This week we commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Dakar, Senegal meeting
of 9 to 12 July, 1987. A group of Afrikaans speaking leaders in South African
formations went to meet leaders of the African National Congress (ANC) in
exile, to discuss the future of South Africa.
We also celebrate the eighth to ninth birthday of our former President, Dr
Nelson Mandela, who remains such a wonderful world icon of our commitment to
social justice and reconciliation with 90 minutes of world class football the
creation of a council of elders, a birthday cake and a Mandela lecture by Kofi
Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN).
I watched the news on television of young people from all over the country
sending birthday wishes to Dr Mandela and explaining in their own way why
Madiba is so special to them.
So our children do engage with democracy (which is more than just a system
of free elections), with the problems of governance and with their
constitutional rights and responsibilities. This is true even in the face of
the troubling levels of violence, drug abuse and neglect we sometimes see in
our schools.
I wish to take a moment to reflect on what some of the young people have
written about their rights and responsibilities.
Lebogang Letsoalo a grade 9 learner from Phusela High School in Limpopo
says,
"I have the right to make mistakes and the responsibility to learn from my
mistakes. I have the right to be educated by my teachers and the responsibility
to listen to what they say so we can understand each other."
Olivia Sefotlhelo a grade 7 learner from Onze Rust Primary School in
Bloemfontein says, "If you don't want to have a responsibility then you don't
have a right. One of the critical outcomes of South African education that we
aim for is the development of young people who are active and responsible
citizens of South Africa."
The ideas that have emerged from this competition strengthen our belief in
young South Africans, my confidence that school children are learning how to
become democratic citizens.
Our Constitution encourages government to respect and protect democracy.
Our Constitution requires all of us to promote and fulfil these entrenched
democratic values in our schools.
Thank you!
Issued by: Ministry of Education
20 July 2007
Source: Department of Education (http://www.education.gov.za/)
