National Heritage Council presentation before the Portfolio Committee on Arts and Culture

1. National Heritage Council presentation beforethe Portfolio Committee on Arts and Culture Parliament, Cape Town 20 May 2005

2. Table of contents • Identified areas to be addressed • Background • NHC mandate and functions • NHC Key Programs • NHC Milestones for 2004/2005 • Highlights of NHC finances • 2005/2006 Key Programmes • NHC-SAHRA collaboration & roles • Repatriation of SA Heritage objects • What value does NHC add to SA heritage sector?

3. Identified areas to be addressed • Annual Report: an overview of NHC past performance and programs • NHC and Heritage sites • Repatriation of South African heritage objects • NHC collaboration with SAHRA

4. Background • NHC is a product of the White Paper on Arts, Science and Technology especially the section dealing with heritage to ensure strategic cohesion of a traditionally fragmented sector - Established in terms of the National Heritage Council Act,11 of 1999 - The Act was proclaimed on 16 February 2004 - The Council was inaugurated by the Minister of Arts and Culture on 26 February 2004

5. NHC mandate and functions in terms of NHC Act of 1999 • Advise minister on national policies on heritage. • Advise minister on allocation of core funding to declared cultural institutions. • Investigate ways & means of effecting repatriation of South African heritage objects. • Make grants to any persons, organization or institutions in order to promote & develop national heritage activities & resources. • Coordination of activities of public institutions involved in heritage management in an integrate manner to ensure optimum use of state resources • Monitor and coordination the transformation of the heritage sector • Public awareness • Consult & liaise with relevant stakeholders on heritage matters • Support, nurture and develop access to institutions and programs that promote and bring equity to heritage management • Promote an awareness of the history of all our peoples • Lobby in order to secure funding for heritage management and to create a greater public awareness of the importance of our nation’s heritage.

6. NHC Key Programs • Audit of heritage institutions, laws, human resources, literature • Unlocking heritage development potential. • Civil Society Engagement on Heritage & public awareness • Transformation Charter • Coordination strategy/model of different heritage actors (sub-sectors, departments, private-public sector, tiers of government) • Thematic Months (youth, workers, women, reconciliation etc). Develop policy framework for international & intra-national repatriation of heritage resources • Special programs targeting youth, children, disabled, women, rural communities. • SA Icons programme • Develop standards & ethical codes for the heritage sector. • Heritage Awards for individuals/organizations promoting, preserving and protecting heritage. • Support and advocate for research aimed at giving voice to those experiences/histories that were oppressed and marginalized. Affirmation of Indigenous Knowledge Systems, pre-colonial history, oral traditions etc. • Engage Media Outlets, Relevant department such as Department of Education to assist in raising public awareness on South African heritage

7. NHC’s 2004/5 milestones • Heritage Transformation Charter programme • Heritage and Development conference & programme • Civil Society Engagement on Heritage • Establishment of NHC Resource Center • Audit of the heritage sector • Audit & review of laws and policies on heritage • Skills audit • Audit of institutions • Partnership with Mpumalanga Government on Mpumalanga Heritage Project • Partneship with Traditional leaders & Khoisan community being forged • Funded heritage projects: • Ntsikana & Mqhayi legacy project (partnering with Fort Hare University) • Study of Domba Ritual • Research on King Makgoba • Mpumalanga Heritage Project • Adams College legacy project • SA icons and pioneers program (Dr Nembula-first black medical doctor in partnership with KZN university) • Emandulo multicultural village • Pre-colonial Swazi Culture study

8. Overview of NHC finances Programmes Budget Personnel 3 720 000 Marketing 3 600 000* Heritage and research 3 850 000 Finance and Administration 5 530 000 TOTAL 16 700 000 • Marketing cost was higher during the initial phase of establishing NHC and it will be reduced from 2005/6 onwards. • NHC lobbied FNB to fund Mpumalanga Heritage project • Fundraising for heritage projects will intensify as there is a sharp increase in request for funding of heritage projects.

9. 2005/6 Programmes • Youth, heritage and nation-building • Children and heritage • Heritage Awards • Concept development on indigenous cultural festival • Crafting of heritage coordination framework/model for effective management of heritage sector • Framework and strategy development for repatriation of South African heritage objects. • Civil society participation in World Heritage Conference • Crafting of policy framework for funding of declared heritage institutions • Launch of Heritage Awards

10. NHC-SAHRA’s relationship & roles • Primary role of NHC is coordination of heritage sector & advice to the minister • SAHRA mainly responsible for identification, declaration and conservation of heritage sites and objects (mainly tangible heritage objects). • SAHRA Chairperson a member of NHC Council • NHC Transformation Task Team has SAHRA CEO and members. • Regular meetings between NHC & SAHRA are held.

11. Repatriation of SA Heritage objects • NHC program to draw a framework for repatriation between states & within the country. • Draw a framework for a law that will prevent these objects from leaving the country. • Audit of heritage objects is critical repatriation and preventing objects leaving.

12. What value does NHC add to the heritage sector? • Coordination of the sector for more efficient use of resources & avoidance of duplication (interdepartmental, across all tiers of government, between private/public sector, among the stakeholders) • Steer a coordinated process of transforming the sector with participation of all critical stakeholders • Lobby for resources to promote, preserve and protect our heritage. • Provide a forum for broad range of heritage stakeholders (library, archives, museums, IKS, Sites, Geographic names, symbols/heraldry, languages)