The City of Cape Town’s Attic Exhibition and the Nelson Mandela in Cape Town Legacy Exhibition have hosted youth groups for a heritage education programme that coincides with International Museum Month.
The programme was a collaboration between the City’s Arts and Culture Branch and the Environmental Planning and Sustainability Branch.
The programme included:
- The Attic Exhibition
- A session in the educational classroom of the Mandela Exhibition regarding the history of City Hall and some iconic visitors, such as former President Nelson Mandela
- A walking tour of the Company’s Garden, which draws attention to the history of the Garden and some of its monuments and sites of importance
The programme supports the theme of International Museum Day (May 18) and month, as assigned each year by the International Council of Museums, namely ‘Museums for Education and Research’.
The theme underscores the pivotal role of cultural institutions in providing a holistic educational experience.
“Heritage is a keystone of our culture and plays an important part in our society and business. By learning about our heritage, we discover what makes us unique as well as our common ground. This enables us to promote unity, mutual understanding and social cohesion,” said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Patricia van der Ross.
“I am encouraged when our youth are eager to learn about their heritage and what makes us who we are. Our heritage is not only who we were in the past, but is a guidepost to future possibilities,” Van der Ross added.
About 250 young people, aged between 18 and 35, will have attended the programme when the last tour takes place on June 4.
“This type of history is an essential source of identity for the youth. The stories we tell about our shared past, and our memories of events and icons like Madiba ensure that we value where we come from,” said the City’s Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Eddie Andrews.
“We also hope that the Company Gardens tour will fire up an interest towards careers that branch off into environmental planning and sustainability. Much like the preservation of our history it should be top of mind for the next generation. This should not only be a learning curve, but rather an opportunity to identify opportunities,” Andrews added.
Organisations that attended are Ikamva Labantwana in Crossroads, Advance Edukos Foundation in Mitchells Plain, Bonteheuwel Training and Skill Squad in Bonteheuwel, and the Advance Edukos Foundation in Strandfontein.
The Attic Exhibition at the City Hall in Darling Street is currently open to the public from 09h00 to 16h00 on weekdays.
The exhibition tells the story of the development and governance of Cape Town, through the art and artifacts that have been bought, donated, or bequeathed to the City over many years.
