Cultural Affairs and Sport

The department collaborates with various role players, cultural community organisations, local municipalities, professional bodies as well as tertiary institutions to deliver its programmes across communities in the province. Through the drama development programme community drama groups are encouraged to give expression to their identity and practices through the medium of drama.

The department supports registered Cultural Councils to promote, preserve and develop culture through providing support for programmes, conferences and research undertaken.

The department provides support to the Xhosa, Hlubi, Sotho and Khoisan communities that practice the rite of passage.

• The Department of Cultural and Sport manages affiliated museums which provide exhibitions (both permanent and travelling), educational programmes and public programmes that highlight cultural diversity and tolerance. These museums play a vital role in building a culturally inclusive Western Cape and inculcate values of a democratic, free and open society. To promote social inclusivity, all exhibitions are printed in the three official languages of the Western Cape, namely: Afrikaans, Xhosa and English. The Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport has mounted the following permanent exhibitions that promote diversity:

MUSEUM	PERMANENT EXHIBITIONS	COMPLETED
Beaufort West Museum	Pictorial Beaufort West. This exhibition contains the local history of Beaufort West.	2011
	A new permanent exhibition at Beaufort West on the people, church and forced removals.	2012
Togryers Museum, Ceres	Histories of Nduli and Rooikamp. This exhibition displays histories of Nduli and Rooikamp that were previously neglected.	2011
Hout Bay Museum	The people of Hout Bay- Land and settlement patterns in the Hout Bay area.	2013
Wheat Industry Museum, Moorreesburg	Local History and History of the Mission Church Congregation.	2013
Oude Kerk Volksmuseum,  Tulbagh	The influence of the earthquake on the people of Tulbagh.	2013
C P Nel Museum, Oudtshoorn	Oudtshoorn and the people during the 20th century.	2014
Stellenbosch Museum	Stellenbosch and its people: a local history Stellenbosch.	2015
George Museum	From the past to the present. As part of the George Heritage Festival the museum mounted an exhibition of the old photographs of George, sport stars across racial divide, as well as over 20 front pages of the George Herald.	2016
	Forests: our green heritage. This exhibition displays the history of the timber industry in George. The exhibition enables the museum to provided education programme in biodiversity of indigenous forest.	2014

 

• Travelling exhibitions allow the Department to address diversity and encourage a sense of belonging. The exhibitions are mobile and can reach wider audiences than museum buildings and are available for community-based festivals and events. To date the following travelling or temporary exhibitions are particularly useful in building diversity: 

TRAVELLING EXHIBITIONS	DESCRIPTION	COMPLETED
South African Nobel Peace Laureates.	2010 marked 50 years Chief Albert Luthuli became the first person from Africa to be awarded with the Nobel Peace prize. To commemorate this event the Department, in partnership with the V&A Waterfront’s Nobel Square, mounted an exhibition to promote all four South Africa’s Nobel Peace laureates that are monumentalised at the Nobel Square. These are: Chief Albert Luthuli, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, FW De Klerk, and Nelson Mandela.	2010
Medicinal plants of the Western Cape	This exhibition displays the heritage of medicinal plants in the Western Cape. It seeks to showcase how medicinal plants have become a tool of social inclusion and promote conservation of such plant as part of our biodiversity.	2011
Karoo Kitchen	The exhibition is linked to a book by a Karoo writer, Ms Sydda Essop. It displays the food heritage of the Karoo and how it has had an influence to the entire Western Cape.	2013
Land and Resistance 1913‑2013: Natives Land Act of 1913	2013 marked the centenary of the promulgation of the Native Land Act of 1913. In partnership with Iziko Museum of South Africa, the Department developed this exhibition as an educational tool about the history of land dispossession in South Africa. The key messages were that despite such divisive history, South Africans have managed to overcome adversity.	2013
Nelson Mandela in his own words	This exhibition displays Nelson Mandala’s quotations that have had far reaching impact on society. It was launched in 2014 to commemorate one year of his death.	2014
The South African National Symbols	This exhibition promotes South African national symbols and inculcates values of shared identity and patriotism.	2015
Dulcie September: The Archive speaks	Dulcie September, a struggle heroine from the Athlone was killed in 1988 in France. This exhibition is part of on-going projects that seeks to showcase the role of the Western Cape in the struggle for a democratic and free South Africa.	2015

 

• Furthermore, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport is involved in a number of Oral History projects that seeks to promote cultural inclusivity through shared histories. Oral history project to encourage people to use libraries and museums as spaces for oral history to be recorded. To date oral histories of previously ignored sections of the community have been recorded in a few towns of every District Municipality in the hope that this will trigger citizens to come forward. It has been launched in the following areas:
  • Hawston;
  • Velddrift;
  • Goedverwacht;
  • Piketberg ;
  • Gouda;
  • Hermon;
  • Wellington;
  • Paarl;
  • Bonteheuwel; and
  • Beaufort West
• The department is involved sport activities through the Anti-Gang programme and the Club Development Programme, which include rural and township communities in 22 different sport codes. The department has involved itself with the Rural Sport Development Programme, in partnership with Sport Recreation SA, which is going is to commence from the 22 October 2016, in Beaufort West. This programme will start with the Cape Winelands and Central Karoo districts.
• The Department facilitates, promotes and supports participation in Recreation, MOD (Mass participation; Opportunity and access; Development and growth) Programme and School Sport activities in all districts across the province. These include Districts Overberg, Cape Winelands, West Coast, Central Karoo and Eden, which include rural and township communities.
• The Metro District also includes township communities.
• Our focus is aimed at supporting schools and hubs in poorer communities primarily focussed on schools in quintiles 1 – 3 (low- and no- fee schools).
•  Cultural diversity is promoted through supporting Recreation, Arts and Culture activities, which include Dance, Music, Drama, Golden Games (Senior Citizen activities), as well as juggling.
• It is further promoted through supporting Indigenous Games in all districts catering for Kgati (rope skipping), Morabaraba (board games), Khokho (“kat en muis”) and Jukskei. Furthermore, through our Recreation Programme, the other five (5) Indigenous Games disciplines are also promoted and supported. These include Dibeke (running game), Iintonga (stick – fighting), Ncuva (board game), Diketo (coordination game) and Drie stokkies (triple jump).

Diversity in sport also includes catering for learners with a disability, including those living in rural and township communities. This includes facilitating, promoting and supporting learners who are intellectually impaired, physically disabled, visually impaired, hearing impaired and learners who are mildly-mentally handicapped.