Pretoria - Heritage Month promises to be a hive of activity for millions of South Africans. The Department of Arts and Culture has put together an entertainment programme offering a showcase of the country's rich football history and national symbols that had South Africans beaming with pride during the World Cup.
And, Arts and Culture Minister, Lulu Xingwana, will have her hands full spearheading these events.
In South Africa, September marks annual Heritage Month, which celebrates the diversity that makes up the country's rich cultural tapestry. Art, music, historical inheritance and language are all part of that creative expression that makes South Africa unique.
This year's theme is Celebrating 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup Successes: Our Heritage. Celebrations are already in full swing, including a National Symbols exhibition at Benoni Museum, aimed at sustaining the National Symbols Campaign. As part of popularising the national flag, the department will continue to distribute and place flags at schools throughout the country.
"We will be going to schools to hoist the national flag and to sing the national anthem. We need to use the symbols that united our country and our people during the World Cup and show that we are proud to be South Africans.
"The country was united around its national symbols, such as the national flag and Bafana Bafana during the month-long tournament. South Africans will always bear the memory of 2010 as a source of inspiration, hope and strength when confronted with any form of hardship and diversity," Xingwana told BuaNews.
This year's national Heritage Month celebrations will be held in Durban on September 24, where President Jacob Zuma is expected to make a keynote address. The programme will include a two-hour prayer meeting to give thanks for the successful hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
"We will have a street carnival, display our national symbols, and a parade by all our national teams from various sporting codes, including Bafana Bafana and Springbok players and artistic performances," she said.
Xingwana said celebrating the successes of the FIFA World Cup as part of the country's heritage was necessary for future generations and while South Africans are known to be the most patriotic citizens in the world, the patriotism that was displayed during the World Cup, needs to be revived and instilled in the country's youth.
"All South Africans need to reclaim their heritage. We need to teach and educate the public and our children about who they are and where they come from and preserve our culture and heritage for future generations," she explained.
For the minister, Heritage Month is also about celebrating the country's living human treasures, giving them the recognition they deserve and encouraging them to transfer their skills and knowledge to future generations. To recognise the human treasures, the theme for the next two years is Celebrating South Africa's Living Human Treasures- the custodians of our Intangible Cultural Heritage.
"We started celebrating our living human treasures at the end of August where we gave awards to the country's women singers, iconic writers and painters and those who do fantastic work in film.
"We will also go around the provinces identifying human treasures, giving them the recognition they deserve and urge them to pass on their skills to the youth. We will give them the resources they require to do so," added Xingwana.
"We need to preserve our heritage left for us by our ancestors. We have 11 official languages that we need to preserve and develop further. Many languages were neglected and margainalised during the colonial and apartheid eras. We need to develop that part of our heritage and culture and further enrich that part of our history."
However, Xingwana also expressed concern that the country's Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) was under constant threat of disappearing due to urbanization, homogenization and lack of documentation.
"We want to focus on this area of our work to ensure that we save this important heritage of our people," she explained.
"We need to teach our children to appreciate and preserve our indigenous music. It is important for us as government to look at how we can use our living treasures to transfer that music, so that our young artists can promote and appreciate it and transfer it, not only in South Africa, but to the rest of the world."
Xingwana encouraged South Africans to be proud of their country and their heritage.
"Let us celebrate our successes from the World Cup and claim that success as part of our heritage. Be proud of your country and your heritage. Write books and conserve our history through the written word."
