Redhill School hosted a two-day event to celebrate Africa Day on 25 May.
The inaugural event was hosted to celebrate the continent’s rich cultural diversity and to stimulate discussion among learners about what it means to be African.
Africa Day is the annual commemoration of the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity on 25 May, 56 years ago.
On 23 May, the school showed a documentary called Africa Shafted, about the over 4 000 people who live in Ponte Tower. On 24 May, numerous discussions were hosted on a range of topics, including African culture and religion, the importance of the Apartheid Museum and why representation matters.
Mumsy Malinga, the head of humanities at the school, said,
“Africa Day is a day when we seek to change the African narrative, a day that serves to remind us of our heritage and help us understand Africa, its people and the diversity within the continent.”
She added that the inaugural event was borne out of a need to foster African pride and enable the community to identify with and appreciate the immense talents of its residents.
A keynote address was given by Itumeleng Dlamini, a lawyer and advisor to the African Peer Review Mechanism, which is an agency of the African Union to identify deficiencies, reinforce best policies and foster policies that lead to growth within the continent.
“Leaders of African countries got together and recognised the importance of working together to fight colonialism and apartheid. They recognised that in order to succeed as a continent, they needed to partner together and that no one country alone should be put in a position where it fights battles alone,” said Dlamini.
She highlighted that she believes Africa’s most precious resources are its young people and they make up the majority of the population. “The people that will change this world are not your parents…the opportunity exists for you today to recognise the power that you have to begin to tell a different story about Africa,” she told the learners.
Details: Redhill School 011 783 4707
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Related article:
https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/135999/corporate-south-africa-gives-backorsouth-africa-day-launched/
