President leads Heritage Day celebrations

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on National Heritage Day, Tuesday 24 September 2019, lead the nation in celebrating the rich array of cultural communities and assets, natural wonders and religious communities that constitute South Africa’s diversity.

The 2019 National Heritage Day celebrations will be hosted by the Northern Cape Province in Upington under the theme “Celebrating South Africa’s literacy classics in the year of indigenous languages”. 

The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages. Twenty-five years after South Africa’s  transition to democracy, the Bill of Rights in the Constitution guarantees freedom of linguistic, cultural and religious association as part of promoting and  maintaining social solidarity and cohesion.

The President will on the morning of the National Heritage Day celebrations officially open the Sandile Present Community Library ahead of addressing the nation at the Mxolisi Jacobs Stadium.

At the Sandile Present Community Library, the President’s Reading Circle, which encourages all citizens to become enthusiastic readers, will host a session in which President Ramaphosa and learners will read in an indigenous language. This session will be led by Ms Katrina Esau, affectionately referred to as Ouma Geelmeid, a recipient of the 2014 National Order Baobab in Silver for her work in heritage preservation.

This activity is primarily aimed at showcasing and appreciating South Africa’s rich literary heritage which must be preserved and sustained for generations to come. 

The Department of Sports, Arts and Culture has since the beginning of September collaborated with the National Library of South Africa and the Publishers Association of South Africa to produce a volume of works written in African languages entitled “Writing in Nine Tongues: A catalogue of Literature and Readers in Nine African Languages for South Africa.”

The catalogue showcases more than 4 000 titles in nine African languages isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sesotho, Sepedi, Setswana, SiSwati, Tshivenda and Xitsonga written in different genres. 

The National Heritage Day media programme will be as follows:

Part A 
Date: 24 September 2019 
Time: 09:00
Venue: Sandile Present Community Library, Carlton Street , Upington , Northern Cape Province

Part B 
Date: 24 September 2019 
Time: 11:00 
Venue: Mxolisi Jacobs Stadium, Upington , Northern Cape Province 

NB: Only accredited media will be allowed entry at the official opening of the Upington Library 

Members of the media should send their details including ID/passport number not later than 23 September 2019 at 12h00 to Khutjo Sebata on khutjos@gmail.com or 079 898 4621. 


Media enquiries: Khusela Diko, Spokesperson to the President on 072 854 5707

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria