on the occasion of the visit by President Hu Jintao, to the Maropeng Centre at
the Cradle of Humankind
7 February 2007
Programme Director,
Mr Mbhazima Shilowa, Premier of Gauteng Province,
Your Excellency President Hu Jintao, President of the People's Republic of
China,
Madame Liu Yonging,
Ministers and Deputy Ministers of the People's Republic of China,
Members of the delegation from the People's Republic of China,
Your Excellency Mr Liu Guijin, Ambassador of the People's Republic of
China,
Your Excellency Mr Ndumiso Ntshinga, South Africa's Ambassador to the People's
Republic of China,
Minister Naledi Pandor, my esteemed colleague,
Honourable guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Members of the fourth estate,
On behalf of the South African government, I would like to extend a warm
welcome to President Hu Jintao and the delegation from the People's Republic of
China.
We are honoured to have Your Excellency here today at Maropeng, which is
part of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, one of the seven World
Heritage sites that South Africa has inscribed on the World Heritage List.
Maropeng was chosen as the name for this site to remind people that the
ancestors of all human beings, wherever they may live today, originally came
from Africa, and probably first emerged here. When visiting the Cradle of
Humankind World Heritage Site, people are actually returning to "the place of
origin."
In his speech at the opening of the site on 7 December 2005, the President
of the Republic of South Africa echoed this by saying, "This home, my home,
your home, Maropeng Visitor Centre, is an African monument to the wonder of the
human species, in all its beauty and variety; in all its tragedy and glory; in
all its wonder and complexity. It is a monument to the entire human race."
It is therefore not coincidental that this is where the African World
Heritage Fund was launched on 5 May 2006. The Fund is an initiative that will
place African State Parties in good stead to improve the state of conservation
of the world heritage sites in Africa. This Fund will also link heritage
preservation to sustainable economic development and thereby afford heritage an
opportunity to play a vital role in critical issues affecting the African
continent. These issues include poverty eradication, skills development and job
creation.
The launch of the African World Heritage Fund was the culmination of a
number of activities to translate the idea of 'The Fund' into a reality.
The proposal to establish the African World Heritage Fund was adopted by the
plenary session of the 29th Session of the World Heritage Committee held in
Durban in 2005. It was then adopted by the African Union Ministers of Culture
Council on 13-14 December 2005, in Nairobi, Kenya, and endorsed by the African
Union Heads of State Summit on 23-24 January 2006 in Khartoum, Sudan.
In 2002, the 26th session held in Budapest, Hungary, the World Heritage
Committee adopted the African Periodic Report: Reporting exercise on the World
Heritage Convention. The report highlighted the challenges faced by many
African countries regarding the implementation of the Convention Concerning the
Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.
The key challenge highlighted by this report is under representation of
African sites on the World Heritage List and the over representation of the
continent on the list of World Heritage in Danger. Only 7% of the 830 sites on
the World Heritage List are in Africa yet, Africa accounts for 43% of sites in
World Heritage in Danger.
The African World Heritage Fund, which is an initiative to address the
challenges faced by the African continent with regards to its heritage,
received overwhelming support at the 29th session of the World Heritage
Committee held in Durban, 10-19 July 2005. The support was accompanied by
specific pledges of financial and other support for a feasibility study for the
establishment of the Fund.
I wish to take this opportunity, Your Excellency, to acknowledge and express
our deep appreciation of the financial contribution made by the People's
Republic of China towards that feasibility study.
The Board of Trustees of this Fund had its first meeting on 29-30 November
2006 to take decisions about its governance structure, its initial operations,
its finances and its priority projects.
The success of this institution depends on partnerships that we should forge
at continental level, as well as on international support from partners such as
yourselves.
Since the establishment of formal diplomatic relations on 1 January 1998,
South Africa and China have enjoyed mutually beneficial relations. We are
particularly thankful for your co-operation in the field of arts and culture.
China's contribution to African Heritage Fund is one more palpable expression
of your great country's commitment to our continent.
Heritage, arts and culture make a critical contribution to the social
cohesion of any society. Maropeng tells us that while we are an extremely
diverse species, yet we all come from one family. The preservation and
protection of sites like these therefore has an importance far beyond South
Africa.
Your Excellency, allow me to take this opportunity to congratulate the
People's Republic of China on the inscription of the Yin Xu and Sichuan Giant
Panda Sanctuaries on the World Heritage List in 2006.
We are at a turning point in the development of this continent. Africa's
rich, diverse, tangible and intangible heritage will be a key driver of this
transformation. The determination with which this fund has been created
inspires hope that Africa's heritage will be preserved for posterity and to the
benefit of all humankind.
Thank you.
Issued by: Department of Arts and Culture
7 February 2007
