PRESIDENTIAL GUEST HOUSE - 1 JUNE 2000
The Chairman of the Freedom Park Trust
Freedom Park Trustees
Minister of Arts, Culture, Science & Technology
Deputy Minister of Arts, Culture, Science & Technology
Minister of Public Works
The Director General in the Presidency
Gauteng MEC for Arts & Culture
Government Officials
Members of the Media present
Ladies and Gentlemen
The people of every great country are bound by their history. Their cultural landscape is enriched by the patina of the buildings, monuments, sites and other places of meaning that reflect the layers of their experiences. Today's event is but one of the many processes that our government has engaged in since 1994, with a view to creating and fostering a new national consciousness among all South Africans of the common legacy that binds us a nation.
The Presidency and the Department of Arts, Culture, Science & Technology have, since 1994, been inundated with requests from various quarters for official approval of the erection of monuments, museums, statues and various other commemorations of the liberation struggle.
We took note of these important requests, as in any case, it is incumbent upon us to ensure that this aspect of our history is reflected and correctly. We felt that it would be important to establish a policy framework that would articulate an overall vision, to channel these requests in such a manner that they contributed to reconciliation and nation-building in our country. It was within this context that the Department of Arts, Culture, Science & Technology conceptualised the Legacy Project, under whose auspices a number of projects have been approved by Cabinet. These projects have been selected on the basis of principles that include:
The Legacy Project, through the National Legacy Committee, has been entrusted with the task of approving and facilitating the setting up of new monuments, museums and museum programmes, plaques, outdoor art works, history trails and other symbolic representations that will create visible reminders of the many aspects of our formerly neglected heritage, widely distributed throughout the country. The variety of themes, to be found in the proposed national symbols will communicate a stimulating message of rich cultural diversity.
Today we are launching the Freedom Park Trust, which will oversee the task of raising funds for the Freedom Park project as well as consultations with interested stakeholders, among other things.
Various sites were identified for the location of this project and feasibility studies were conducted. Salvokop, located between the Ben Schoeman Highway and Nelson Mandela Drive, has been chosen as the best site.
The vision behind Freedom Park is to articulate an overall, multi-faceted heritage, which will be brought together to represent, in a visible, experiential, and interactive manner, our developing national consciousness and identity. The aim would be also to strengthen an awareness of the new legacy projects set up throughout the country, helping to give substance to our culture, and deepen our identity and consciousness as South Africans. It is envisaged that Freedom Park will become a place of pilgrimage and inspiration, a message from Africa and South Africa to the world, of suffering and of the triumph of the human spirit. Like other great monuments and memorials of the world, Freedom Park will be a place of historical meaning and celebration, attracting every South African citizen, who will find their heritage represented there.
The Freedom Park project will involve the erection of a Wall of Remembrance and a Museum reflecting phases of the struggle for liberation from pre-colonial, colonial, apartheid and post-apartheid eras. It has been suggested that three interactive themes, which represent our past, present and future, would embrace the vision of Freedom Park. · The Struggle for liberation, an often painful but also inspiring aspect of our past that should not be swept under the carpet but rather celebrated and understood in its historical context, for it can help us to develop a creative response to our past, and promote the process of healing.
Democracy and its inspiring process of reconciliation. Ours is a narrative that has captured the imagination of the world. How we resolve the problems of racism, bigotry and economic inequality in our country will be an example to the world community. In today's overwhelming, economic and cultural globalisation and Afro-pessimism, the portraits, representations, commemorations, performances and festivals at Freedom Park, should impart a unique, holistic and forward looking South African flavour.
Nation-building, and our steps towards conceptualising a national consciousness. What would this entail? A national consciousness is not a 'given', as we are painfully aware through our own historical experiences. It will be important therefore to include the debates and contradictions that occur in the process of exploring concepts related to nation-building in our multi-cultural society. · The presentations in Freedom Park should communicate the important point that there is never 'closure' in exploring the exciting, yet difficult, challenges and possibilities inherent in the concept and process of nation-building.
In this context it is important to stress that the underlying aim of the Freedom Park is to reflect the cultural lifestyle of all South Africans, to reach out to all people, young and old and be a moving, informative as well as entertaining experience. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure therefore to declare the Freedom Park Trust officially launched.
I thank you.