1 Presenter Mr. Vusithemba Ndima Chief Director: Heritage BRIEFING TO PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON HERITAGE MONTH AUGUST 2007

2 THE THEME The theme is “Celebrating South African Poetry (with special emphasis on Indigenous Languages)”. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES To promote a culture of reading and writing, to revitalize South African languages and literatures both in their oral and written forms, To stimulate the growth and development of South African literature in indigenous African languages To create new audiences, especially amongst the youth. To highlight the role of oral narratives such as poetry, play in the transmission and preservation of culture and history from one generation to another. To use poetry as a vehicle to transmit the ideals of Ubuntu, Nation Building and Social Cohesion HERITAGE MONTH 2007

3 1. LAUNCH OF HERITAGE MONTH The Heritage Month Launch will be held on 8 September 2007 in Cape Town, the proposed venue is KwaLanga. It will be hosted by the Department of Arts and Culture, the Western Cape Province, and Cape Town Metro A small focus/working group has been established to conceptualise the launch Such a working group will comprise of high profile poets such as Don Mattera, Willie Kgositsile and others A comprehensive programme will be shared with you once it is ready It is envisaged that preference will be given to local poets in the Western Cape Province Cont/ SCOPE AND IMPLEMENTATION: HERITAGE MONTH ACTIVITIES

4 2. PROVINCIAL POETRY WORKSHOPS It is envisaged that poetry workshops will be held in all nine (9) provinces as build up processes to the Heritage Day Celebrations. These workshops are designed to groom young poets in the art and skill of writing poetry The National Poet Laurette, Prof Kgositsile will be assisted by 10 seasoned South African poets Partnership and collaboration with the SABC Lentswe Project

5 3. NATIONAL HERITAGE DAY CELEBRATIONS, 24 SEPTEMBER 2007 The National Heritage Day Celebrations will be held on 24 September 2007 in Mangaung, Free State Province OFFICIAL PROGRAMME Welcome address Keynote Address Vote of thanks CULTURAL PROGRAMME A blend of music and poetry A poetry evening is also envisaged for 23 September at PACOFS

6 JOINT PLANNING COMMITTEE: The Department of Arts and Culture Free State Province The Department of Education, Free State The South African National Defence Force The Presidency The Presidential Protection Unit Cont/ IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2007 HERITAGE DAY CELEBRATIONS

7 The South African Police Service National Heritage Council The South African Heritage Resources Agency Bloemfontein Municipality WordFest Timbila Poetry Project Poetry Africa Bhala Writer’s Guild Poets

8 The services of an events management company will be secured by mid August The service provider will handle the following key logistical aspects of the event: – Marquees, tents and chairs for VIP sitting – Lunch for the VIPs – Public catering – Tents for the artists, the elderly and the disabled – Safety and security – Stage and podium – Sound system and daylight screens with the necessary backup systems – Power and back-up generators LOGISTICS

9 The role of the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture in the Free State and the local municipality PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILIZATION

10 RADIO AND TELEVISION A Marketing and Communication strategy will incorporate interviews on radio and television. An Outside Broadcast will broadcast the Heritage Day proceedings on 24 September This will be mainly a partnership between the DAC and the SABC. The interviews will be part of the Communication Strategy NEWSPAPER ADVERTISEMENTS: The strategy will incorporate the placing of advertisements in various national, provincial and local newspapers MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

11 THANK YOU