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