Africa Day 2013 | Western Cape Government

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Africa Day 2013

17 May 2013

Africa Day is celebrated around the world on 25 May every year to commemorate the establishment in 1963 of the Organisation of African Unity (now known as the African Union). This day celebrates our diversity and achievements and highlights to the world the potential of the African continent. It is a reminder to all the people living in Africa that we are not alone as we deal with our challenges.

The Western Cape Government works together with a variety of role-players in sustainable partnerships to overcome obstacles to Africa’s development. The Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS) is involved in exciting activities that contribute to social and cultural programmes in our communities.

Apart from these partnerships, we are rather pleased to share with you some of the alignments of our core business with the principles of the Charter of African Cultural Renaissance.  The Charter was developed by the African Union to support the preservation of cultural activities.

We may not realise how often our daily service delivery restores our continental identity when we nurture our cultural diversity in communities. A great example is the way our provincial heritage sites and museum artefacts are being protected and restored for the benefit of current and future generations. Another example is the coordination of the Indigenous Games as part of our Mass participation, Opportunity and access, Development and growth (MOD) Centre programmes.  These games were played by our ancestors and its revival aims to preserve our cultural heritage and traditions and transfer the values of Ubuntu and human rights. Our well-known booklet and CD on Nama, an indigenous language used in parts of South Africa, Namibia and Botswana, makes it possible for readers to learn the language through self-tuition and aims to preserve this language from becoming extinct .

Our libraries across the province are very proud of the way they make material by prominent African writers available to the public. These authors allow the readers insight into the experiences of communities across Africa. We are also very proud of one of our colleagues at Western Cape Archives and Records Services who participated in restoring some of the famous Timbuktu manuscripts in Mali. These manuscripts have preserved information on sciences, arts, medicine and calligraphy from the 13th century, evidence that Africa had knowledge systems prior to its colonialisation. Our annual funding programmes in the areas of sport, arts and culture are also a notable investment in the people of our province, country and continent.

We are indeed working towards making the Western Cape a thriving economic hub. Be part of the growth and prosperity of our province and let us work towards creating a flourishing Africa BETTER TOGETHER.

Media Enquiries: 

Liezl Jansen
021 483 9669
E-mail:Liezl.Jansen@westerncape.gov.za
DCAS Stakeholder Management