Liberation Struggle Heritage Route, a project of remembrance

The provincial department will utilise the Liberation Struggle Heritage Route poster campaign to publicise the Liberation Struggle Heritage Route. Gauteng has proposed that the unique route be listed on the world heritage register as the first of its kind to be recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee. A committee made up of civil society stakeholders will be appointed to undertake a consultative process with communities so that these chosen landmarks and people are given proper platforms to depict our liberation's stories.

The Profiling of Personalities

The Liberation Struggle Heritage Route poster campaign's impact will be bolstered by the Profiling of Personalities project, which aims to highlight the contributions that were made by figures whose history is not known. The profiling aims to publicise the individuals' history in relation to the liberation struggle.

The modus operandi for the selection involves the individuals' lives being researched, including who they are in their community, the values they stood for, their background and the role they played in the liberation. The gathered data will then be collated into a personality profile and this will be published in selected newspapers.

Africa is a continent that has not been utilising formal manners of recording history and this has meant that there has been a discrepancy and imbalances. There was also the fact that some of the country's history has been left out intentionally. The Profiling of Personalities project's strengths are that it generates, publicises and disseminates historical knowledge of the chosen personalities.

Four chosen

As a pilot project, only four individuals have been selected according to the following criteria: credentials in the struggle; the need for gender balance; youth empowerment; disability and involvement in former liberation forces, such as trades unions.

The first four individuals who will be profiled include the Vaal's Molefi Congress Mbata, who facilitated the crossing of operatives for military training under uMkhonto Wesizwe; Sam Ntuli who is a former unionist from Ekurhuleni; Charlotte Maxeke who was the first president of the ANC Women's League; and social worker, author and member of the first democratically elected parliament, Ellen Khuzwayo.

South Africa would not be the proud and progressive nation that it is today if it was not for the the selfless efforts of the men and women who were willing to lay their lives for our freedom and Heritage Month is an opportunity for all of us to thanks them by showcasing our strength through diversity.

For more information contact Nomazwe Ntlokwana on +27 (0)83 507 8068 or +27 (0)11 355 2578 or az.vog.gnetuag@anawkoltn.ewzamon.