A news conference has been scheduled for 13.30 on Monday, 15 October 2007, at the Slave Quarters, Leeuwenhof Estate (official residence of Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool) where Advocate Sonwabile Mancotywa, CEO of the National Heritage Council, will officially announce that African elder statesman Dr Kenneth Kaunda has been selected as this years recipient of the Ubuntu Award.
The Ubuntu Award, which is expected to grow in stature to the level of the Nobel Peace Prize and the Ghandi Award, seeks to honour individuals whose character, leadership, philosophy and lifes work are an asset to people worldwide because it is an embodiment of the universal values of Ubuntu - our common humanity.
The National Heritage Council chief executive will also unveil the statutory body's plans to host an Ubuntu Imbizo where approximately 1 000 people, drawn from across South Africa and the Western Cape, will gather at the Boschendal Estate in the historic Dwars River Valley to interrogate and celebrate the very essence of the humanity of our young democracy.
Both the Ubuntu Imbizo and the Ubuntu Award ceremony are scheduled for 19 October 2007, with the Imbizo process scheduled to run from 9.00 to 16.00, after which the Ubuntu Award will be conferred on the former Zambian president.
The Ubuntu Imbizo is one of the most significant events on the calendar of the National Heritage Council, the statutory body charged with the coordination and transformation of the South African heritage sector. The Ubuntu Imbizo will provide the public with an opportunity to participate in critical discussions about the philosophical foundations of Ubuntu within an African and global context. The Imbizo will also examine the nature of problems that South Africa is encountering and possible responses using Ubuntu, assess the viability of Ubuntu as a national policy, reflect on the challenge of implementation, moving from a cultural attribute to a public policy and interrogate the challenges of implementing Ubuntu in a multicultural and previously deeply divided society.
The Ubuntu Imbizo, will bring together a representative gathering of South Africans from all cultures, interest groups, academics, political leaders, public servants and advocacy groups in this critical discourse aimed at evaluating the content of the humanity in our democracy and advising policymakers through an intensive consultative process. The importance of the Imbizo, and its significance to how our young democracy is shaped has been underlined by NHC Chief Operating Officer, Dr Somadoda Fikeni, who has on numerous occasions stated that, the measure of the greatness of any society, is not how it relates to the powerful, but how it deals with the concerns of the weak, the infirm and the marginalized.
The Ubuntu Imbizo will be immediately followed by a gala awards dinner where African elder statesman and former Zambian president, Dr Kenneth Kaunda, will be honoured as the second recipient of the prestigious Ubuntu Award, by the National Heritage Council. Dr. Kaunda, who has distinguished himself as a true proponent of the universal values of Ubuntu(humanity), through his indefatigable efforts in the quest for peace, conflict resolution, understanding and justice, follows in the footsteps of the Ubuntu Awards first recipient, former South African president Nelson Mandela.
Their inspiring example of courage under fire, inspirational leadership, and wise counsel have opened the eyes of people worldwide to the possibilities of a world free of conflict, where respect, justice, dignity, within the framework of a new social contract, is possible. Discussing the reason for the internationally revered statesmans selection as the Ubuntu award recipient, NHC Chief Executive Officer said: In the entire African continent, Dr Kaunda is one of very few leaders who have personified Ubuntu in both his political work and community development work around the world, through his articulation of African Humanism, which in essence is Ubuntu, the world came to know about this African philosophy.
There is no living world leader today who has made such an immense contribution and sacrifice in assisting African liberation movements in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s than Dr Kaunda. This was the best demonstration of the spirit of Ubuntu and a towering gesture of human solidarity in face of adversity. Advocate Mancotywa went on to observe that the downfall of colonialism, apartheid and imperialism in the African continent has Dr Kaundas handprints and his continued work towards social justice makes him eminently qualified to be a recipient of the Ubuntu Award.
The Ubuntu Imbizo & Award was inspired by a call made by President Thabo Mbeki during the Heritage Day celebration on 24 September 2005 at Taung, Northwest Province. At this celebration and in many other speeches he has called on South Africans to revive and simplify Ubuntu as a potent tool that can make a major contribution in nation building around a set of values, philosophy, practices and norms which are contained in the African Philosophy of Ubuntu. The National Heritage Council views Ubuntu as a strategic resource and rich heritage that a liberated South Africa has barely utilized or acknowledged.
Programmes and campaigns to revive Ubuntu and utilize it in many spheres (justice system, moral regeneration, revival of an African family, industrial relations, conflict resolution, inter-generational relations and inter-group relations of our society will emerge from this programme but more than that, a high level of consciousness and debate is created.
The news conference commences at 13.30 and all media representative should rsvp by 11.00, Monday 15 October and present proper identification on arrival at the venue.
For enquiries:
Danny Goulkan
Email: danny@nhc.org.za
Tel: 072- 952 2261
Zenzile Khoisan
Tel: 073- 230 3213
Jeremy Michaels
Chief Director: Communications (Acting)
Director: Media Relations
Office of the Premier
Provincial Government of the Western Cape
Cell: +27 (0)82 772 1122
Office: +27 (0)21 483 9955
Fax: +27 (0)21 483 7196
E-mail:jmichaels@pgwc.gov.za
Postal address: PO Box 659, Cape Town, 8000.
Physical address: Office of the Premier, Mezzanine Level, M23, 7 Wale Street, Cape Town, South Africa, 8001.
Website: www.capegateway.gov.za
