MAHIKENG MAIL – MAHIKENG - North West Provincial Archives and Records Services under the Department of Arts, Culture, Sport and Recreation hosted the Oral History Colloquium at Mmabana Taung, as part of promoting and protecting archives from previously marginalised communities in order to bring about redress.
The event that was held under the theme: ‘Traditions and Modernity: 30 years in democracy and beyond’ and emphasised the importance of oral history in South Africa. The event provided a platform for participants to share and discuss their oral traditions, oral testimonies and indigenous knowledge that prevailed through generations in relation to modern practices to help harmonise relations between different generations. It will also help educate and encourage participants to see the role history is playing in our societies. The Oral History also reflected on the need for black South Africans to be part of telling the history of the marginalised communities, whose history has never been told or documented.
Speaking at the Oral History Colloquium in Taung, MEC Mokone Collen Maine urged communities to be proud of their history and origins.
The two-day event was attended by learners and community members with hosts being prominent indigenous knowledge experts and activists discussing topics including The role of oral histories in enhancing a decolonised curriculum, and Positioning indigenous knowledge in the modern democratic SA and beyond. The speakers weres the president of the Oral History Association of South Africa (OHASA), Professor Sekgothe Mokgoatsana and Professor Resenga Maluleka, who spoke on “Positioning indigenous knowledge in the modern democratic South Africa”.
