The Freedom Charter as a Cultural Text forms the topic for a public dialogue to be held on Saturday 20 July at Freedom Park at 18h00.
As Raymond Suttner and Jeremy Cronin comment in their book, 50 Years of the Freedom Charter (UNISA PRESS, 2006), The Freedom Charter (FC) not only articulated the nation’s cultural aspirations, but it has had a lasting impact on our cultural discourse.
“The Freedom Charter was not only a political event, it was a major cultural milestone. The Freedom Charter recognises both the desire for unity and the rich, cultural diversity of our country”, they wrote.
The public dialogue takes place under the auspices of Credo- a ground-breaking multimedia oratorio, which will premiere at UNISA’s ZK Matthews Great Hall in Pretoria, on Nelson Mandela’s 95thbirthday, 18 July 2013. The 67 minute musical testament to the Freedom Charter is presented in celebration of the 140th anniversary of The University of South Africa (UNISA).
Founded in 1873 as the University of Good Hope; UNISA became the first public university in the world to teach exclusively by means of distance education; and throughout its rich history has continued to provide all people – regardless of race, colour or creed – with access to higher education.
In line with these ideals, UNISA has facilitated these public dialogue sessions. The first was held in April, at which well-known thought leaders Raymond Suttner, Jabulani Sithole, Dr Essop Pahad and Bridget Mabandla were chaired by Brent Meersman and considered the legacy of the Freedom Charter, asking, whether it was “a living document”.
Professor Suttner homed in on the words “we the people” and made the point that it depends to what extent we have succeeded as a country in making “the people” present in a participative democracy.
Jabulani Sithole described the FC as an “evergreen document”, a benchmark below which we cannot allow ourselves to perform.
Bridget Mabandla, former Minister of Justice, said the FC set out a vision of a society to which we still subscribe, one that is egalitarian, free of racism and sexism, and gross inequality. It was under the influence of the FC that we saw the inclusion of full socio-economic rights into our constitution.
Dr Essop Pahad, editor-in-chief of The Thinker magazine, who was present at the Congress of the People in 1955, reminded the audience how the meeting was held in the teeth of a massive, heavily armed police presence. He commented on the internationalism in the document, how forward looking it was, and how it called for world peace, and looked way beyond the borders of this country.
The second public dialogue takes place at 6pm on Saturday 20 July at Freedom Park. This time the panel will discuss what the Freedom Charter has to say about culture, what its relevance is in our cultural life, and how it has itself become a cultural artefact.
Writer Brent Meersman will once again chair the panel, with panellists: poet laureate Keorapetse William Kgositsile, composer Bongani Ndodana-Breen, musicologist Ncebakazi Mnukwana, and arts journalist Gwen Ansell.
For more information or to book for the dialogue, please contact gilly@thefamousidea.co.za or 011 446 7061. There is no entrance fee.
Credo will have three performances during its world premiere run on July 18, 19 and 21, 2013 in the ZK Matthews Great Hall at UNISA, marking the 140th year of the founding of UNISA. Credo is produced by a creative team including Bongani Ndodana-Breen, Brent Meersman, Andrew Black, Brenda Sisane, Shadrack Bokaba and the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Jonas Alber. Tickets cost R60 to R200 and are available from Computicket.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
The Freedom Charter is one of the key “founding” documents of a democratic South Africa and is regarded as second only to the constitution in the country’s hierarchy of political documents. Adopted in Kliptown on 26 June 1955, the Freedom Charter was the culmination of a long nation-wide, non-racial political consultative process among the diverse constituent members of the South African Congress Alliance, which included the African National Congress, the South African Congress of Democrats, the South African Indian Congress and the Coloured Peoples’ Congress.
50,000 thousand volunteers were sent into various communities to canvass public opinion regarding the political future of South Africa thus, in this seminal respect, the Freedom Charter differs from similar documents found in other democracies as it is the result of this public consultation process.
The Freedom Charter states the fundamental principles and core national values of a democratic South Africa, among which are:
• The people shall govern
• All national groups have equal rights
• The people shall share in the country’s wealth
• The land shall be shared among those who work it
• All shall be equal before the law
• All shall enjoy equal human rights
• There shall be work and security
• The doors of learning and culture shall be opened
• There shall be houses, security and comfort
• There shall be peace and friendship
Some 3,000 delegates attended the conference adopting the Freedom Charter and those in attendance recall that each section of the Freedom Charter was adopted to cries of “Afrika!” and “Mayibuye”.
URL: http://credo-freedomcharter.com/
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Author: Fiona Gordon from The Famous Idea Trading Co.. Originally distributed by MyPR.co.za.
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