Jukskei River Park receives international award

Alexandra’s vibe, age and violent history has helped one of its parks earn an international accolade.

The sprawling township is one of the oldest in the country, and has a colourful cultural and turbulent history which includes surviving forced removals.

This background has lead to the Jukskei River Park being awarded status of a peace park by the International Association of Travel and Tourism Professionals. The association’s membership includes esteemed global professionals and agencies in the tourism industry who have bestowed similar awards to more than 450 other parks all over the world. The parks are chosen for their potential as symbols of peace, and in promoting values of tolerance, non-violence, gender equality, human rights and youth empowerment.

Delegates from the association, officials from City Parks, Greater Alexandra Chamber of Commerce and community leaders commemorated the bestowment by planting olive trees in the park.

The association’s representative, Bernadette Nicol said they hoped leaders in the township would use the award as a platform to profile its tourism potential, promote peace, encourage tourism institutions to include the history of the township in their curriculum, and to develop partnerships of local youths with international youth travel organisations.

The delegation also used the opportunity to visit historical sites in the township such as the Xhoma family home where Nelson Mandela was temporarily accommodated when he first arrived in Johannesburg. Other sites visited were the old Kings’ Cinema, one of the few entertainment places for Africans during the early stages of apartheid, and the headquarters of the notorious Msomi gang which terrorised the area in the 50s.

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