Cultural Affairs and Sport

(1)    (a) How much funding was given to the Genadendal Mission Museum in the (i) 2018/19, (ii) 2019/20 and (iii) 2020/21 financial years and (b) what other support has her Department given to the Genadendal Mission Museum in the (i) 2018/19, (ii) 2019/20 and (iii) 2020/21 financial years;
 
The Department provided the following annual subsidy to the Genadendal Museum for operational costs to ensure the museum remains open to the public:

(i)    2018/2019 R 411,864
(ii)    2019/2020 R 411,864
(iii)    2020/2021 R 396,811 (Reduced due to impact from COVID-19, as with all affiliated museums)
 
(b) In addition, the Department provided the following additional funding to the Genadendal Museum for the employment of EPWP beneficiaries, assistance with Auditor-General Fees and maintenance of museum buildings:

(i)    2018/2019 R329,250 (EPWP)
2018/2019 R 85,000 (Auditor-General Fees)
(ii)    2019/2020 R360,981 (EPWP)
2019/2020 R 35,000 (Auditor-General Fees)
2019/2020 R 50,000 (Reburial of Human Remains Programme)
(iii)    2020/2021 R 310,585 (EPWP)
2020/2021 R 86,774 (Auditor-General Fees)
2020/2021 R400,000 (Maintenance of museum buildings)

Response:
(2)    (a) what programmes does her Department have in place for recording oral history, (b) what is the process of (i) recording oral history and (ii) the verification of it, (c) where is it (i) recorded and (ii) stored and (d) what method is used to record these histories;

The Library Service is currently hosting the Oral History Initiative project, whereby the Oral History Initiative is rolled out to all the public libraries in the Western Cape. This project started in 2015 and is still in process. The Department has so far recorded over 400 DVDs in approximately 15 Municipalities.  The Museum Service and affiliated museums conduct oral history interviews as part of its research process when producing new exhibitions. 

The Transversal Oral History Framework of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (September 2015) outlines the minimum standards for conducting oral history and phases to be followed during the pre-interview, interview, and post interview phases. The oral histories are sourced with consent from the participants and become part of the text that informs the exhibitions. Each municipality has public libraries that it serves, and each public library has a community it serves. The Department liaises with the Library Managers of the municipalities to have the Oral History project rolled out. Individuals/groups are then identified for recording to share their expertise on pertinent histories, habits, traditions, and folklore, which is then recorded by a camera and microphone on DVD.

The Oral History Initiative project is rolled out to the 25 Municipalities in the Western Cape. DVDs are handed to the storytellers as well as the Archive Serves for preservation for posterity. The recordings are listed and described to ensure accessibility when requested by researchers visiting the archives repository.

Oral history recordings are recorded on camera and audio on DVD.  

(3)    whether her Department has programmes in place to preserve languages, such as the language of the Khoisan and other indigenous languages; if not, why not; if so, (a) what are the relevant details, (b) how is this communicated to organisations that want to participate in this process, (c) where is this communicated and (d) how can individuals access these services?

Response:

(3)  Yes, the Department has programmes in place to preserve languages. The Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport promotes and actively tries to preserve indigenous languages in the Western Cape as reflected in the below programmes and projects: 

During the 2018/19 financial year, the Department and the WCLC facilitated the development of a Nama language course in the form of booklets and CDs titled “Teach yourself Nama”. These were widely distributed in all parts of the Western Cape and due to a demand for more of these language courses, reprints of the booklets and copies of the CDs were made in 2019. The language course is available at all 375 public libraries as well as museums and archives in the Western Cape.

The Department launched a “Year of Indigenous Languages” event in 2019 in response to Unesco’s declaration of 2019 as the International year of indigenous languages. At the event emphasis was placed on KhoeKhoegowab by a Khoi artist, Courtnay Lemmert, who had specially composed a song about her mother tongue, which she performed at the occasion. 

The Department also provided the Nama language course for attendees and guests at the launch of the AfriKwê project at the University of Stellenbosch during March 2019, where weekly classes to teach KhoeKhoegowab were offered by volunteers.  

In 2019 the Department collaborated with the Central Library in hosting an event to celebrate Heritage month. The focus of the event was to promote writers to publish their books in their mother tongue with the goal to preserve them in the space of a multilingual society. A member of the WCLC, Mr Riaan Baartman, an advocate and native speaker, gave a talk on revitalising the Khoekhoegowab language at the event. Mr Baartman has also promoted his language through committee and departmental projects. He has also written an article in the Western Cape Government “Better Together” magazine during Heritage month to promote the importance of the language. 

In 2020, the Department collaborated with the PanSALB to celebrate International Translation Day on 30 September with the theme “Finding the words in a world of crisis”. The aim of the project was to celebrate language practitioners and other practitioners in the language fraternity and acknowledge what they are doing to contribute to the promotion of multilingualism and for advancing languages, language professions and careers. A booklet was developed with messages from various language practitioners working in the Western Cape Government and also included a message in Khoekhoegowab from Mr Baartman. The booklet was circulated on all DCAS virtual platforms. 

As of 2020, the restrictions as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in virtual programmes being held. The Department celebrated International Mother Language Day on 22 February this year in collaboration with the WCLC, UWC, PanSALB, National Library, South African Centre for the Book, Swahili Language Board, SupuSupu Khoi Language Project, Iziko Museums of South Afrika and the Indigenous Language Action Forum. The theme of the event was “Safeguarding of linguistic diversity and multilingualism”. Discourse focused around promoting multilingualism and multiculturalism, encouraging and creating awareness of the usage and preservation of our rich and diverse linguistic and cultural heritage across the world. The programme included presentations by Mr Martinus Fredericks, a member of the Western Cape PanSALB Committee and Mr Denver Torogo from the SupuSupu Khoi Language Project spoke about the importance of safeguarding Khoekhoegowab. 

The Department also collaborated with the University of Cape Town on its first accredited Khoekhoegowab training course for beginners in 2019. The Department also provided training material in the form of Nama language course CDs and booklets to participants. The Department is currently engaging with UCT for further collaborations on its plans around its Khoekhoegowab training project in 2021.

The Department has also recognised the importance of developing and promoting Afrikaaps, which is an indigenous language culturally identified with and spoken by a large part of the populace in the Western Cape. The Department is engaging with the University of the Western Cape, who has plans to roll-out a project for the promotion of Afrikaaps through a first phase approach of developing an Afrikaaps dictionary.

b) how is this communicated to organisations that want to participate in this process (c) where is this communicated and (d) how can individuals access these services?

Response:

(b-d)    Invitations are sent out to stakeholders via email and also placed on the DCAS virtual social media platforms and website. Entities with which the Department collaborates with also circulate the invitations with their stakeholder base and via their media platforms. The invitations are also shared with the WCLC committee members, and they too disseminate the invitations to their stakeholders and contacts. Information of projects are uploaded on the DCAS website. Individuals may also contact members of the WCLC and departmental officials responsible for language and cultural matters directly by sourcing their details via the DCAS website.