On 18 May 2010 museums around the world will celebrate International Museum Day. Museums wield the potential to serve as platforms from which cultural exchange, awareness and enrichment can be facilitated in order to promote tolerance and understanding. Iziko Museums of Cape Town will also celebrate this international event by granting visitors free access to its sites (excluding the Castle of Good Hope), as well as hosting a dynamic outreach programme on the day.

“Museums for Social Harmony,” is the theme adopted by ICOM (International Council of Museums) for International Museum Day in 2010. The theme is based on the concept that social harmony is achieved through dialogue, interaction and social participation. South Africa is a country filled with a rich array of traditions, history and heritage. As the custodians of our culture, it is imperative that we ensure the preservation and continued appreciation of our forefathers’ remarkable stories, and that we bequest these as the birthright of future generations.

Learners from various social backgrounds will participate in a workshop, based on the current Iziko Slave Lodge exhibition entitled: Mandela – Leader, Comrade, Negotiator, Prisoner, Statesman, as well as a facilitated cultural exchange workshop during which objects of cultural value will be displayed and discussed by the learners.

The Arts Collection Library will host its Annual Book Sale at the Iziko South African National Gallery from 10h00 to 15h00. Visitors can acquire a wide range of exhibition catalogues, books, journals, pamphlets and posters spanning many different genres and publications at reasonable prices.

The Natural History Collections Department will display their collections, including fossils from Cenozoic, Karoo and Invertebrate Palaeontology, wet specimens from Terrestrial Vertebrates and Marine Biology, as well as insect specimens from the Entomology department. Visitors will have a unique opportunity to engage with subject specialists, posing questions and gaining insight into the objects on display at the Iziko South African Museum.

Visitors will also be given free access to the Planetarium for the 12h45 screening of “Table Mountain” – an informative show which explores this landmark as the only geographical feature on Earth to be represented as a constellation in the sky!

A public discussion entitled: “MUSEUMS FOR SOCIAL HARMONY - The Role of Museums in bringing about social cohesion nation-building and reconciliation as a catalyst for social change” will be chaired by CEO of Iziko Museums of Cape Town, Prof. Jatti Bredekamp, in the T H Barry Lecture Theatre at 13:00 (duration). The panel of presenters will include Damir Dijakovic - Programme Specialist in Culture from the UNESCO Office Windhoek, Mandy Sanger, Education Manager from the District Six Museum and Lucy Campbell , Cultural Heritage Slave Site interpreter from Transcending History Tours. A specially created poetry rendition will be delivered by internationally acclaimed poet, Diana Ferrus.

A guided tour of the National Gallery exhibition, “1910-2010: From Pierneef to Gugulective,” an exhibition celebrating one hundred years of South African art will be hosted by curator and Director of the Arts Collections Department, Riason Naidoo at 15H00.

For more information about the programme and to RSVP for the panel discussion and guided tour, contact Wandile Goosen Kasibe on Tel. 021 481 3804/13 or email wkasibe@iziko.org.za.

Iziko is an isiXhosa word meaning hearth which encapsulates our vision as a hearth of heritage.

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