Nelson Mandela said that ‘Children are our greatest treasure and our future’. The Southern Regional Council could not agree more with this statement and in fact, has included this objective in its title of Southern Region of Culture 2023. The knowledge and experiences given to our children are one of the ways in which a community is empowered to aspire to a better future. All this needs to be done with a mindset to cultivate and embellish the traditions and heritage that were passed on to us by our ancestors.
Children see and think about their future in a unique way, and this is why the Southern Region of Culture wanted to give them a voice. Listening to what these youngsters have to say and to the way they look at their future will help us develop ways and means to preserve Cultural heritage whilst in the same way offering a possibility to these children’s dreams. This is also one of the main reasoning behind the legacy book being created throughout this year. Without children to continue what we leave, there is no future ahead of us.
We believe in a broad gamut of regional futures ahead of us and a choice that is ours to make. ROC2023 shall contribute towards better futures for our communities thanks to increased cultural participation.
