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President Jacob Zuma will on Sunday, 24 September 2017, lead the Heritage Day celebrations in Siyabuswa in the Mpumalanga Province.

The national Heritage Day celebrations will be held under the theme "The Year of OR Tambo: Celebrating Our Liberation Heritage".

Heritage Day in South Africa embraces the vast cultural diversity and history that distinctly marks the country's rich identity.

The theme of this year's Heritage Day "The Year of OR Tambo: Celebrating our Liberation Heritage" is in accordance with preserving the history and imparting it to the younger generations.

President Zuma has said "Celebrating our Liberation Heritage contributes to the revival of the political and social-cultural consciousness across the country on the liberation struggle narrative. We hope that it will also invoke nationwide discussions on issues relating to decolonisation and identity, democracy and radical socio-economic transformation."

Heritage Day also encompasses our ecosystems, wildlife, and unique mountains. This is the core of the country's natural heritage which, when combined with the cultural heritage, makes South Africa a world in one country. The day also aims to recognise the role of cultural and heritage institutions and enabling access to all as they serve as reservoirs of knowledge and wisdom to bridge the intergenerational gap in the transmission of indigenous knowledge, skills and techniques.

The South African Constitution also guarantees the right to cultural, religious and linguistic associations and other organs of civil society.

All cultural groups are celebrated across South Africa on Heritage Day to enhance nation building, social cohesion, national reconciliation, moral regeneration, economic and social development.

South Africans are therefore encouraged to take pride in the country's cultural institutions and play an active role in affirming, promoting and preserving them.

Issued by the Presidency