MEDIA RELEASE                                                          FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

VOORTREKKER MONUMENT MOVES WITH THE TIMES……

 

Pretoria, 20 October 2005.  A recent report in an English daily incorrectly tried to create the impression that the Voortrekker Monument was still struggling to adapt to the changing times.  Furthermore the report tried to create the impression through incorrect quotes that Black people had never been never allowed in the VTM in the past, which is factually wrong.

 

Regardless of the facts of the matter, it is correct to say that the VTM as an organization had to work very hard to rid itself of old, negative perceptions among the broad public concerning political and emotional baggage that was associated with it.  For many, the VTM was, erroneously, an exclusive "icon of Apartheid" of which the right to existence and ability to do so had to be questioned.

 

Since 2000 the Board of Directors of the VTM has accepted a new management policy based on a fresh approach, with sound management, excellent service and aggressive marketing as important elements thereof.  One of the aims of the aggressive marketing policy was, without changing the facts of history or loss of identity, to purposefully address the question of the legitimacy of the VTM so that there would be no threat to its survival from the government or the community's perspective.

 

Some of the initiatives that have already been taken in this regard, to establish the VTM as a proud component of the South African national estate as a whole, and to reposition it for the future, can be summarized as follows:

 

  • Deliberately leaving the trenches of cultural isolation, in order to fearlessly project the culture of the Afrikaner as part of the culture of the bigger South Africa.
  • The management setup was totally revised and based on modern, scientific principals.
  • Training and motivation of own personnel in order to empower them to provide excellent, hospitable service to all visitors to the VTM
  • Appointment of several Black guides to provide mother tongue guidance to Black learners, and the introduction of a third language (Northern Sotho) on all posters in the exhibition hall of the VTM.
  • Active marketing aimed especially at the youth, including learners in traditionally Black schools.
  • Invitations to specific Black leaders to visit the VTM, amongst others Ex-President Nelson Mandela during the inauguration of the statue of the Boer hero, Danie Theron.
  • Co-operation with the SA National Defence Force to introduce the Afrikaner culture to other cultural groups during cross cultural days.
  • An active, positive media liaison policy that has already contributed significantly to the improvement of the image, esteem and credibility of the VTM.
  • Active liaison with official institutions, such as the Ministry and the Department of Arts and Culture, the National Heritage Council and the SA Heritage Resources Agency.
  • Constructive co-operation with the Freedom Park Trust, the Commission for the Protection of Rights, the Apartheid Museum and others.  The VTM has agreed to provide certain forms of training to personnel of the Apartheid Museum.
  • The promotion of active participation in national festivals and –holidays, and knowledge of the new national symbols.
  • Actions aimed at the protection of other cultures and monuments as well.
  • International liaison and
  • By practically illustrating that it is possible to simultaneously be proudly South African and proudly Afrikaner and Afrikaans

 

The VTM accepts that it might not be possible to break down all the old perceptions and prejudices overnight, but it is nevertheless irreversibly on the road to constructive involvement to help ensure a better future for all, and especially for the youth and young people of today.

 

This does not mean that the VTM will lose its identity in the process or that it stands apart from its own traditional support base.  As a matter of fact, the honest and open minded manner in which the VTM has managed the process of change up to now, has already largely contributed to the consolidation of its support base among Afrikaners, and that large numbers of them are increasingly prepared to proudly associate with and actively support the VTM, as a winning organization and a role model for other heritage institutions and tourism destinations.

 

 


RELEASED BY:

MAJ GEN GERT OPPERMAN (RET)

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

VOORTREKKER MONUMENT HERITAGE SITE