The Department of Arts and Culture invites members of the media to the Opening Ceremony on the 29th April 2016 of the African World Heritage Regional Youth Forum hosted by the department in partnership with the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) and the Robben Island Museum.
Led by the AWHF and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, the event will take place from 28 April to 04 May 2016 at the Robben Island World Heritage Site in Cape Town.
An initiative of the African Member States of UNESCO and the African Union (AU), the African World Heritage Fund was launched on 5 May 2006 at Sterkfontein in South Africa to support the effective conservation and protection of natural and cultural heritage of Outstanding Universal Value in Africa.
It is for this reason that the South Africa Government through the Department of Arts and Culture greatly supports the efforts of the AWHF and UNESCO.
Celebrating its 10th Anniversary, the AWHF will host a week-long programme entailing amongst others, lectures, presentations from experts and heritage specialists as well as group discussions and workshops including the Youth Forum. The Forum is aimed at addressing young people and seeks to provide a sustainable platform for youth in Africa to actively participate and contribute towards the promotion and protection of World Heritage in Africa.
This Regional African forum will provide the opportunity for young people to exchange experiences, to discuss common concerns, to discover new roles for themselves in World Heritage conservation and have their voices heard. The forum will also encourage youth involvement in entrepreneurship bringing direct economic benefits to local communities living in or around World Heritage properties in Africa.
In addition, it will promoting the involvement of youth in conservation activities, site management, disaster risk management and sustainable tourism development initiatives at Africa’s natural and cultural World Heritage properties.
A total of 28 young individuals will be participating from 24 African countries – Botswana, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The discussions of the forum will deliver essential feedback to UNESCO, the World Heritage Committee and the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) on youth challenges, accomplishments and actions related to the implementation of the World Heritage Convention in the region.
Members of the media are invited as follows:
Opening ceremony of the forum
Date: 29 April 2016
Time: 10h00 – 11h30
Venue: Nelson Mandela Gateway, Clock Tower, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town
Media RSVPs:
James Mathibeng
Tel: 012 441 3639
E-mail: JamesMa@dac.gov.za
Media enquiries:
Teresa Magidela
Tel: 012441 362
E-mail: TeresaM@dac.gov.za
Luyanda Sithole
Tel: 011 313 5035
Cell: 079 746 1539
E-mail: LuyandaS@dbsa.org
