On Friday, 25 March South Africa’s champions of heritage were honoured at the National Heritage Council (NHC) of South Africa’s annual Golden Shield Heritage Awards hosted in partnership with the Limpopo Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) at Meropa Casino in Polokwane.

“Through these awards, the NHC is able to identify quality projects and put them on a platform for the project leaders to grow while others learn from them,” said Dr Ndivhoniswani Lukhwareni, Chief Executive Officer of the NHC.

World renowned, Peter Gabriel was recognised with the Ubuntu Honour for his initiative on the World of Music, Arts and Dance (WOMAD) movement founded in 1982 to drive job creation and cultural tourism whilst featuring unique and high-quality performances in iconic venues. The movement promotes equality and dignity to all humanity through fundraising. Most importantly, this movement staged the first concert that started the Release Mandela Campaign.

Gabriel was part of The Elders which was launched by Nelson Mandela in 2007.  In recognition of his many years of human rights activism, he received the Man of Peace award from the Nobel Peace Prize laureates in 2006, and Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Winners per category received R20, 000 cash with R10, 000 each received by runners up.

The following are the Winners in the Categories:

National Living Treasure - Dr. Mashudu Rubson Dima (Limpopo)

The 81 year-old Dr Mashudu Rubson Dima is a traditional healer and founder of a non-profit and community-based organization called AFYEMD. He works with schools, youth in communities, academic researchers on aspects of indigenous knowledge, culture, and cultural biodiversity. Dr Dima advocates for the value of indigenous knowledge systems, the significance of preserving nature as well as aspects of indigenous healing and medicinal plants. Through his programmes, he has created space of intergenerational learning and dialogue. He has contributed to decolonizing community health care services regarding the traditional way of managing diseases and cultural practices which might have an impact on the management of diseases such as HIV and Aids. He has been practicing as an indigenous healer for 60 years. Dr Dima has worked with different Universities at international and local levels on Indigenous Knowledge Systems, with social workers in Vhembe district as well as different government departments.

Preferred Heritage Destination - Cape Muslim & Slave Heritage Museum (Western Cape)

The Cape Muslim & Slave Heritage Museum is at the Cape Castle of Good Hope in the Western Cape. It narrates an unedited history of the Cape by exploring the arrival of the Portuguese and Dutch; their interaction with the indigenous San and Khoi people of South Africa. The museum has become a platform which creates the awareness of both the past and living history, depicting both the historic and current events which have impacted the country as a whole and the broader Cape Town area. It showcases exhibitions, one thousand five hundred (1,500) paintings, artifacts, photographs and relics; presentation and tours of Cape Muslim and slave history.

Young Heritage Activist - Njabulo Mahlangu (Gauteng)

Njabulo Mahlangu is a 22 year old young man. At the age of 6, he was already on the international stage performing folk dances and music. He inherited this intangible knowledge from his family community organisation. In 2014, he decided to adventure on his own journey by starting a safeguarding traditional games project and African cuisine snack bar called JamFood. In 2016  Njabulo was invited to Germany (Bonn) by the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development as a young South African ambassador to address the topic of cultural diversity and preservation of history on indigenous knowledge globally. Annually on  the 16th of June, he organises an event bringing together parents and children to cook African cuisine and play indigenous games.

Voice of Heritage - Mukundi Lambane (Limpopo)

Mukundi Lambane is the founder and director of Ambani Africa, an Edtech company that offers technology-enabled African language content. The start-up teaches young learners mother-tongue through gaming and augmented reality, an interactive experience of a real-world environment, making it a fun learning resource. The company offers a free app that uses gaming to teach young learners African languages and culture. The app features isiZulu, isiXhosa, Sepedi, Setswana, Tshivenda, Xitsonga, Shona and Swahili. The company also has augmented reality books that come to life in different languages.

Corporate Heritage Management - Tintswalo Khoza (Limpopo)

Ms. Tintswalo Khoza is traditional healer who uses bones to communicate with her ancestors and balances between being a traditionalist and a travel consultant. After working 10 years for big travel companies, in 2013 she decided to open her own travel agency in Thohoyandou with the aim of growing Vhembe tourism focusing on  the promotion of culture and heritage. In 2014 she co-hosted the first ever Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape & Heritage celebration event, where 2500 people from the 43 municipalities in Vhembe District attended. The event was a true success which gave her the confidence to promote heritage tourism to international markets.

Liberation Heritage Steward - Susie Pather (KwaZulu Natal)

Susie Pather is an 80 year old cricketer. She travelled worldwide to campaign for freedom, democracy, Human rights, justice, nation building and Peace during the years of apartheid. Susie also empowered disadvantaged women, girls and boys in cricket.

Heritage Education - Ntokozo Mbuli (Gauteng)

Ntokozo Mbuli is currently the Producer of a hybrid nature-culture series that highlights the importance of indigenous knowledge, titled IMVELOGY on SABC 2. The show teaches about the value of indigenous knowledge and our cultural traditions and practices. It further explores how indigenous knowledge can be used to protect and conserve the natural world. Each episode of a series focuses on a specific clan in a journey of historical and cultural discovery. It draws knowledge from the elders, cultural history experts and African language academics, to bring us a greater understanding of how exactly our roots are aligned with conservation.

Contact details of the winners can be requested from Ms Tebogo Shilakwe – 084 597 8881 | t.shilakwe@nhc.org.za