Heritage and the Youth

Last month we published an article from the Restorica archives where the author spoke about the power of excursions to heritage sites to inspire the youth (click here to read). We are sure most readers can remember at least one phenomenal trip during their childhood that has left an impact to this day. Over the last few weeks we have been sent some wonderful stories and photographs of recent adventures.

The stand out submission came from Holly Muggeridge from Riverview Prep School in Malalane. Teachers from the school arranged a visit for Grade 4 and 5 pupils to the landmark Samora Machel Monument and Museum near Mbuzini (commemorating the air crash that killed the Mozambican President, top government officials and Soviet airmen in 1986). Muggeridge was so moved by the experience and the explanation of the Monument’s design and symbolism that as soon as she arrived home she set about building a scale model. This was not part of an assignment set by teachers but a spontaneous reaction to what she had seen and felt on the trip. She also experimented with various sounds for a video recreating the wailing sound that the Monument makes when the wind blows (architect José Forjaz placed small holes in the steel tubes to create this sound). If this wasn’t enough Muggeridge turned from artist and director to journalist, recording how her fellow students had experienced the outing. It is truly amazing to see how the excursion acted as a catalyst for a creative explosion...

An ongoing task for heritage enthusiasts, history teachers, parents and others is to get young people excited about history and heritage. While browsing through the 1982 edition of Restorica, the old journal of the Simon van der Stel Foundation (today the Heritage Association of South Africa), we found a wonderful piece by Dr Ruth E Gordon on this matter. Her advice is still as relevant today as it was then. These days we have a spectrum of technological innovations to help us in this endeavour. We loved the letter from Claire Thompson by the way. It would be interesting to see what impact Dr Gordon has had on Claire's life. As always thank you to the University of Pretoria (Restorica copyright holders) for giving us permission to publish.

At the last Annual General Meeting of the Foundation held in Pietermaritzburg on May 1st 1982, there was some discussion about how the young people of the country might be attracted to an active interest in the aims of conservation and the restoration of our old buildings and historical sites. lt was deplored that young people are so keenly searching for the future that the past fails to hold them until they themselves reach middle or old age. Various ideas were mooted and Dr Eily Gledhill of Grahamstown described the tours in that area which familiarised school children with the historic importance of their environment. As the meeting was pressed for time I refrained from making my own small contribution to the discussion but do...