HERITAGE DAY MESSAGE
South African Chamber of Commerce UK
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Heritage Day – 24 September is a relatively new public holiday in South Africa. Previously known as ‘Shaka’s Day’, the holiday was dedicated to acknowledging King Shaka Zulu on the day of his death in 1828. Shaka Zulu was largely responsible for uniting different local clans into one united and mighty Zulu nation.
Heritage Day is a time to recognise aspects of South African culture which are both tangible and difficult to pin down. These include:
■ Creative expression
■ Historical inheritance
■ Languages of which 12 are official and five languages – Xhosa, Zulu, Sesotho, English and Afrikaans are present in our anthem (On 2 May 2023, Sign Language (SASL) was approved as an official language to promote the rights of persons who are deaf and hard of hearing.)
■ Food we eat – samp, the traditional braai, seafood and not to forget the wonderful wines we create
■ The land we love
To this end, the first SAFFA Festival in the Isle of Man celebrated elements of South African culture, food, creativity, and friendship. See article on page 7 .
The powerhouse behind making the Festival a reality was Vanessa Naude of Isle Settle and I extend my thanks to you Vanessa for placing your confidence in the Isle of Man Chapter of the SA Chamber UK and our faith in partnering with June Whiteman, our Isle of Man Chapter Lead. You and your team skilfully delivered a magnificent Festival on Saturday and I hope it will become an annual event.
To the team and my executive assistant, June, you have made South Africa proud and all of us were warmed by the spirit of ‘ubuntu’ which abounded at the Festival.
- By Sharon Constan?on