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Date
: 25/03/2006
Source: Ministry of Communications
Title: Matsepe–Casaburri: Launch of 3D animated series
‘Magic Cellar’
Address by the Honourable Minister of Communications, Dr Ivy
Matsepe–Casaburri, at the launch of Magic Cellar,
Africa’s first 3D animated series, Nu Metro, Monte
Casino
Programme Director
Your Excellency, Miss Sandelle Scrimshaw, High Commissioner for
Canada
Mr Mfundi Vundla of Morula Pictures
Mr Firdaus Kharas of Chocolate Moose Media Industry players,
present here today
Esteemed guests
Ladies and gentlemen
I have looked forward to this momentous occasion with great
expectation and excitement because like all of you gathered here
today, I am extremely passionate about any programme or project
that places the interest of our children high on its agenda. You
will also recall that it is for this very reason, of developing our
children, that I have chosen to support the Minister of Education,
Ms Naledi Pandor, on the READ Project to encourage the habit of
reading among our children.
When adults often say, “children are our future”,
children reply, “Tomorrow is ours”. Hence it is our
responsibility, our duty as parents, as adults, as society, that we
put in place the appropriate environment that will facilitate their
entry into and claiming their tomorrow.
We meet today when our society has been expressing great concern
about how we treat our children and prepare them for the future.
Media is one mechanism by which we interact with our children; by
which they learn or receive values, spiritual and functional
abilities, which they need to engage with their world and shape it
for the future.
Therefore, this launch today, is a perfect demonstration of the
role that both public and private media can and must play in
meeting the challenge to develop our children so that they would
embrace correct and healthy values necessary to live successful and
productive lives as responsible citizens.
This partnership between public and private, local and
international partners commissioned by the South African Bureau for
Standards (SABS) that has resulted in Magic Cellar created and
which commits itself to showcase and profile stories and folktales
that celebrate cultural values; tell stories that will ignite and
light up self knowledge, restore feelings of self worth, self
esteem and self love in children of Africa; children who are proud
of their heritage and traditions. That the programme will
eventually be broadcast in all our 11 languages is a step in the
right direction for it is recognition and respect for our language
and cultural diversity in terms of our constitution.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to congratulate Mfundi and
Firdaus as well as everyone who has been involved with this
production. Animation has been proven to be quite an effective
while also entertaining medium, which our production houses have
embraced. If this message alone captures our young we will know we
have tried to help them shape their future. We thank you all
especially our Canadian partners.
Thank you for your commitment. History will not forget. Coming
after the success of our local elections; the first 400+ runs in
one-days cricket and our Oscar for Tsotsi; our success at
Commonwealth Games, it will build on the spirit of “the age
of hope” to remind us that we can!! We will always try to
make this impossible, possible.
Magic Cellar has shown itself to be a credible partner within the
world vision that we improve our quality of life through the use of
information and communication and technologies (ICTs).
It is also important that I locate this event we are celebrating
here today within the broad objectives of the fifth World Summit on
Media for Children. The Summit will take place in South Africa next
year hosted by the Children and Broadcasting Foundation for Africa
(CBFA).
You will recall that in 1995, we ratified the International Charter
on Television for Children while in 1997 we then ratified the
Africa Charter on Children’s Broadcasting. As a result, it is
a joy beyond words to see Magic Cellar and know that it will uphold
the principles and spirit of the Charter in all its aspects.
Once again, I express my sincere and hearty congratulations to
Magic Cellar. May the enterprise grow and become what the country
and our people expect it to be.
Thank you.
Issued by: Ministry of Communications
25 March 2006
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