Street scene in Kliptown today

RELATED LINKS: Kliptown makeover slowly gaining ground The first two phases of the Kliptown Development Project involving road linkages have been completed since the plan was formulated in November 2001, but the target of 7 000 houses is hard to envisage amidst the run-down residential area. Read more Historic Kliptown gets its first museum Kliptown, one of Soweto's historic sites, is set to get its first museum, exhibiting pictures and artefacts celebrating its rich political and social history. Kliptown was the site of the 1955 signing of the Freedom Charter, when a mass gathering of anti-apartheid organisations set out a series of demands to the apartheid government. Read more Walter Sisulu Square - the winner's design It didn't take the judges long to decide which of the 35 entries in the Walter Sisulu Square project was the winner - the one which not only designed a very symbolic square but incorporated a larger urban design for the area, as part of the rejuvenation of greater Soweto. Read more

Historic artifacts at an exhibition of old Kliptown life

City wants your memories of Freedom Charter AS PART of its project to reconstruct Kliptown, the Johannesburg Development Agency has called on all South Africans who have archival material of the Freedom Charter or the history of the township to add them to its collection. March 15, 2005 By Anish Abraham THE FREEDOM Charter was signed in Kliptown half a century ago this year, and the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) is undertaking a countrywide campaign to collect historic records and related information to assist its reconstruction of the Soweto township. As part of the Kliptown Development Project, the area is undergoing infrastructural, environmental and economic upgrades that are aimed at transforming it into a tourist destination and heritage site, as well as a flourishing residential and commercial area. Audrey Manganye, the project manager, is appealing to the public to assist his agency in its endeavours. "We are making a call to all South Africans, across the length and breadth of the country, young and old, including those who participated in the adoption of the Freedom Charter in 1955, to contribute." The Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication (formerly known as Freedom Square), a national heritage site, and Kliptown's first museum are at the heart of the project. Blue IQ, the Gauteng provincial government's infrastructure development programme, is funding the upgrading of the area. People who have private items regarding the event are urged to come forward and "share the history of this significant national heritage with all of us", says Manganye. These can include personal memorabilia, documents, archival material, photographs, sound recordings, film, replicas and works of art Photographs of the Freedom Charter rally at a Kliptown history exhibition He explains that the open-air museum is a significant component of the square that will only achieve its objective if it is able to capture the essence of Kliptown, through the documented records that are still in private hands. "We hope that private collectors can make these items available as donations, but we can also look at getting some material on loan," says Manganye. However, as funds become available, the JDA will look at buying some historical artefacts for the museum. It will also involve the Kliptown community and people who participated in the 1955 Congress of the People - which signed the Freedom Charter - to gather oral history of the area. "We would also like to request members of the public who have kept newspaper clippings and any kind of record about historical events to make these available to the Kliptown museum," says Manganye. The JDA has commissioned work such as paintings and sculptures from artists that will add to the atmosphere it hopes to create at the museum. "This is just a component of the bigger picture," Manganya says, referring to the development programme to rejuvenate the entire township. For more information, contact Aubrey Manganye on 011 688 7857. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za