McKenzie Launches Heritage Month 2025 with Call to Reimagine SA’s Heritage

As South Africa welcomes Heritage Month 2025, Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, has issued a bold call for the transformation of the country’s museums, archives, and heritage sites. Speaking at the official launch on Monday, McKenzie declared that heritage institutions must evolve into active engines of national identity, social change, and economic opportunity.

“Heritage institutions cannot just be museums of dust and silence. They must become places of action, innovation, and opportunity,” McKenzie said. “Young South Africans should walk into a museum or heritage site and see themselves, feel inspired, and leave empowered to shape a better tomorrow.”

This year’s Heritage Month is being celebrated under the forward-looking theme: “Reimagine Our Heritage Institutions for a New Era.”

A Vision for Heritage That Drives the Future

Traditionally regarded as protectors of national memory, South Africa’s heritage institutions have long played a vital role in preserving cultural narratives, particularly post-1994. However, McKenzie argued that in today’s rapidly changing world, these institutions must expand their role to become drivers of innovation, inclusion, and sustainable development.

“The initiative recognises that South Africa’s heritage is not only a reflection of the past but a powerful catalyst for building a dynamic, socially responsive, technologically innovative, and economically inclusive future built on the democratic values of human dignity, equality and the supremacy of the rule of law,” he said.

The Minister envisions museums and heritage sites as living spaces that not only commemorate the past but also cultivate civic pride, drive entrepreneurship, foster creativity, and equip the youth to navigate and lead in the digital age.

Technology and Youth: Key to Reimagining Heritage

At the heart of the department’s vision is the belief that young South Africans must be both participants and beneficiaries of this transformation. By integrating technology, interactive storytelling, digital exhibitions, and virtual tours, McKenzie believes that heritage institutions can become gateways to innovation.

“We are entering a new era. Our institutions must reflect the dreams of a new generation,” said McKenzie. “Through technology, creativity, and the full participation of our people, we can turn memory into momentum. The courage of our past heroes must ignite the fire of future innovation.”

National Heritage Day to be Celebrated in Oudtshoorn

The national Heritage Day celebration will be hosted in Oudtshoorn, Western Cape, on 24 September, in collaboration with the provincial government. The choice of Oudtshoorn, a town rich in cultural diversity and history, is symbolic of the department’s aim to decentralise celebrations and bring focus to smaller communities with significant heritage potential.

The celebration will feature:

• Cultural performances

• Storytelling and oral history sessions

• Local exhibitions showcasing heritage crafts and cuisine

• Youth-led dialogues on heritage, innovation, and nation-building

Honouring the Legacy of Resistance on Robben Island

One of the central highlights of Heritage Month 2025 will be a historic Reunion of Ex-Political Prisoners, hosted on 27 September at Robben Island, in partnership with the Association for Ex-Political Prisoners (AEPP) and the Robben Island Museum (RIM).

Held under the theme, “Reuniting with Robben Island as the Stronghold that Fortified Our Resistance to Achieve Our Freedom,” the event will honour former political prisoners who endured imprisonment during the struggle against apartheid.

“This symbolic and emotional gathering will pay tribute to Robben Island-based ex-political prisoners—those brave, courageous and selfless combatants who put their lives on the line for the attainment of South Africa’s freedom and democracy,” McKenzie said. “This event not only honours the legacy of resistance but reconnects our national consciousness with the lived experiences of those who endured incarceration in the name of justice and equality.”

The reunion will include a wreath-laying ceremony, testimonies from surviving prisoners, and intergenerational dialogue sessions between former activists and today’s youth.

A Democratic, Inclusive, and Living Heritage

Minister McKenzie reiterated that Heritage Month 2025 must not be reduced to ceremonial rituals or symbolic remembrance. Instead, it must serve as a strategic platform for inclusive development, helping South Africans to reclaim history as a tool for transformation.

Key focus areas of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture’s broader strategy include:

• Expanding access to heritage sites for rural and underprivileged communities

• Digitising archives and oral history collections

• Developing creative economy opportunities linked to heritage tourism

• Promoting indigenous languages and cultural literacy

• Facilitating youth leadership and innovation programmes in museums and cultural institutions

Final Thoughts: Heritage That Builds, Not Just Remembers

Heritage Month 2025, under McKenzie’s leadership, represents a shift toward heritage that builds, not just remembers—a call to reimagine national memory as a foundation for innovation, dignity, and unity.

“Let this be the month where museums speak, archives inspire, and monuments breathe. Let our heritage live, not in the pages of textbooks or the silence of corridors, but in the dreams, ambitions, and creativity of our people,” McKenzie concluded.