Government is to launch a campaign to encourage South Africans from all walks of life to share their personal stories on what it was like growing up during apartheid, what changes democracy has brought and their vision for the future.

The Tell Your Story Campaign, initiated by the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), forms part of celebrating the 20 years of freedom and democracy in South Africa.

According to the GCIS, the campaign will be run in collaboration with a range of partners with a view to share South Africa’s unique stories as a nation, record the country’s history and ultimately build social cohesion and nationhood.

“Many ordinary South Africans never had the opportunity to share the painful stories of the past or reflect on what changes democracy has brought for them. The Tell Your Story campaign is a platform where people can share these experiences openly with others so that differences might be overcome.

“It is through this opening up that we will be able to begin to work towards building a socially cohesive South Africa where citizens are united. We can bridge divisions by sharing our stories,” said Minister of Communications, Faith Muthambi.

She said government encouraged all citizens, businesses, non-governmental organisations, civil society, religious and cultural groups to host “Tell Your Story” events or publish their stories.

“For this campaign to be successful, we need South Africans from all ages, races, genders, culture groups, sexual orientation and social status to actively participate.”

The Department of Arts and Culture, in support of the campaign, will celebrate Heritage Month under the theme: “Celebrating 20 Years of Democracy: Tell Your Story that Moves South Africa Forward”. 

The GCIS said it had also established partnerships with a range of organisations that throughout September, will host their own Tell Your Story events to celebrate 20 years of freedom and democracy and build social cohesion.

Members of the public are encouraged to share their stories on twitter @TellYourStoriesZA using the hashtag #CelebratingSAStories or to send these to electronic@gcis.gov.za for publishing on the GCIS website and Facebook page.