Projects & Programmes
Photographer: Jan Greshoff
Commemorations
Commemorations at District Six Museum
The work of the District Six Museum involves advocating for the significance of personal and collective memories in the lives of people. The public face of this finds expression through commemorative events and rituals.
Some of these follow the calendar of national commemorations which have been inaugurated during South Africa’s move towards democracy; others are specifically District Six-focused, being dates of events significant to the life of the community.
27 April,
Freedom Day
The Museum’s Freedom Day programmes have mostly focused on exploring the role of remembrance and memorialisation as an expression of freedom, and have taken on different forms.
With its origins in the first democratic elections in South Africa which took place on 27 April 1994, Freedom Day is observed on this date each year.
Celebratory in its origins and intentions, it has also become a day of reflection and recommitment. The Museum’s Freedom Day programmes have mostly focused on exploring the role of remembrance and memorialisation as an expression of freedom, and have taken on different forms. Films, discussions, site walks and panel discussions have been some of the platforms through which questions such as those below have been explored:
- What is the state of freedom in our country, and to what extent do you feel free?
- What do we need to do to ensure that the hard-won freedoms are guaranteed for ourselves and for future generations?
- What role does remembering the past play in the protection of our freedoms?
Visit http://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/freedom-day-27-april for more information about Freedom Day in South Africa