Imagine Durban
History, Heritage and Culture Theme
Way Forward
31st July 2008
**DRAFT**
1. Background
Imagine Durban is a council-led initiative on integrated, long-term planning that is being implemented in conjunction with Sustainable Cities, an NGO from Vancouver, Canada, and the PLUS Network, a network of 35 cities in 14 countries established to share experiences in sustainability planning. Imagine Durban is a process that will start with mobilizing each of us (from government to non-government, civil society organizations, faith based groups, tertiary institutions, business organizations and ordinary folk) to imagine what we want our city to be like in the future, and to create a path to begin taking us there today.
One of the key outcomes of the Imagine Durban will be a plan for long term sustainability for the city. Through the initial consultation process seven key theme areas have been identified for the plan:
Safe City
Environmental Sustainability
Human Development, Caring & Commitment
Sustainable Livelihoods
Universal Access
History, Heritage and Culture
The first theme workshop on History, Heritage and Culture was held at the Botanical Gardens on 16th July 2008. This document is intended to provide a summarisation of the goals and strategies emerging from the participatory process. It outlines the strategic plan of action or ‘way forward’ for this particular theme, and is intended for broad debate and discussion.
2. Proposed Goal Statement
“Durban is a creative city that celebrates its cultural heritage”.
3. Proposed Goal Areas
Building on responses during the workshop process, the following interrelated goal areas are proposed:
Description of Goal Area
The public is aware of Durban’s human (i.e. cultural, socio-economic, political and artistic) and natural history.
Urban development reinforces Durban’s local artistic talent and diversity.
A supportive institutional environment exists to promote local arts and historical initiatives.
Proposed Strategies
The following section presents the strategies that were suggested to deliver the end goal for History, Heritage and Culture. Throughout the workshop it was insisted that all roleplayers and stakeholders be involved in the decision-making around and implementation of the strategies, although eThekwini Municipality was recognized as the potential driver of the process. In other words, the city’s attempts to become a ‘Creative City’ should entail a bottom-up approach, with seed funding for the local municipality, which promotes local community networking.
Education and Information Dissemination
A strong theme emerging from the workshop sessions was the need to educate individuals and communities regarding the importance and value of the arts, history and cultural heritage. It was recognized that many people in Durban, particularly the youth, fail to show an interest in or an appreciation for their local human and natural history. By cultivating a sense of value for arts and heritage amongst local residents and organisations, Durban could become a national centre for cultural tolerance, arts and history (with benefits for community cohesiveness, as well as local tourism and artistic enterprises).
This strategy is aimed at activating both communal and corporate support for artistic/cultural initiatives. Various strategies were proposed in order to do so:
A municipal-led communications/awareness programme could be created to specifically deal with issues of information access and promotion of the arts/history.
Some form of ‘multicultural council’ could be created – a widely representative body that deals with local cultural issues and can decide on which artistic/historical/cultural areas to promote.
The programme should recognise and utilize traditional modes of information dissemination (e.g. oral tradition, music), as well as more modern techniques (word poetry, rap etc.).
Past and present role models or representatives of cultural diversity should be identified and presented as sources of inspiration for the youth.
A comprehensive guide book for Durban should be developed, aimed at both locals and tourists, which should explain aspects of Durban’s built, human and natural history.
i. If such guides are already available, they should be publicised and translated into different languages.
Aside from the need to have a holistic arts/history strategy in place (with dedicated municipal support), more specific suggestions were made regarding strategies to distribute knowledge within these areas. They generally focused on two strategic threads: firstly, the creation or preservation of physical places that may serve to promote inter-communal cultural and historical awareness, as well as artistic expression; and secondly, the organization of events and activities to do the same.
Sub-strategy 1: Creating Places that Celebrate and Promote Art and Historical Heritage
Here the most pressing need is to reclaim public spaces; to preserve them or recreate them where appropriate. Specific suggestions included the following:
Durban should create and support an urban arts or cultural precinct (such as that of Newtown in Johannesburg). This could include:
Restaurants that represent all of Durban’s cultural (and hence culinary) differences.
The establishment of graffiti walls in order to showcase up-and-coming urban street artists. This should be allowed to evolve ‘organically’, as opposed to merely providing a series of dedicated walls for graffiti artists.
Places for artists to live and work.
Designated spaces for buskers to perform (as in Barcelona).
New education and cultural centres could be established throughout the city. The emphasis here should be on diversity, rather than displaying particular cultures to the neglect of others.
Community halls, market spaces and churches (i.e. standard community facilities that are often under-utilised) could be used as places for artistic and cultural exhibition. These places could be renamed and marketed as ‘Expression Centres’.
Tourist routes dedicated to arts and history should be created and marketed. These should:
a. Include both walking and public transport routes.
i. The walking routes should bypass areas that accommodate performers and traders.
ii. The People Mover public transport system could be extended to bypass sites of historical interest.
iii. Alternatively, a dedicated bus fleet could run the same tourist route everyday; this would allow the creation of a ‘universal ticket’ system so that people can hop on and off at different sites.
iv. Old vehicles (from the transport museum) could be used to transport tourists around the city.
v. Each stop-off should provide a ‘city plan’: a map that displays the location of important sites.
vi. Both the walking and public transport routes should be documented and explained within an informative and accurate guide/mapbook (one that is not just an advertising rag).
b. Include plaques and boards providing useful information on different buildings/precincts/public open spaces throughout the city.
c. Bypass a series of sculptures/friezes/specific objects that depict and represent certain aspects of our heritage.
d. Expose tourists and residents to the assets that the city already has (i.e. it does not require the construction of new ‘attractions’), such as the harbour and Bluff. For example, a site of historical interest yet minimal public access, such as the whaling station, could be converted into heritage site with an upgraded access ferry, landing points and information resources.
e. Be created in conjunction with a campaign to ‘take back public ownership of the streets’: promoting usage so that people use these places and thereby create a sense of safety.
Further steps should be taken to preserve the city’s built heritage. Although municipal initiatives do exist to protect certain architectural styles (e.g. Art Deco), it was considered that these policies could be improved upon. They should, for example:
a. Recognize the different ‘layers’ of places of historical importance; as well as the value of all different built forms.
b. Involve a reworked policy framework, so that if one buys into a particular area/historical precinct, one does so with the understanding that the original architectural built form must be preserved/restored.
c. Entitle those who own ‘heritage’ buildings to a significant municipal rates rebate, which will enable them to restore their property (at present the financial onus for restoration is primarily on the side of the landowner).
Durban should be reinvented as a ‘Creative City’ with respect to the creation of its public spaces.
a. Urban planners and designers must collaborate with artists so that simple elements of the urban landscape (e.g. pavements) may come alive with a multitude of colour and cultural influence.
Sub-strategy 2: Organizing Events and Activities that Celebrate and Promote Art and Historical Heritage
A common understanding reached during the workshop process was that artistic or cultural activity should not be concentrated in a limited number of physical places, but rather spread throughout the city. This should be done through the organisation of events/initiatives that involve all residents of Durban, regardless of their ethnic background, and which draw attention to the city’s status as a cultural ‘melting pot’. The following ideas were put forward in this regard:
Organizing school days and tours that focus on educating the youth about Durban’s history. Important sites of historical interest would act as stop-off points along the tour.
a. Tours may involve ‘walking the city’. This could be made fun by presenting it as a ‘treasure hunt’ for schoolchildren: they could follow a trail of clues and historical sites, being required to find out certain pieces of information along the way.
b. The local education department should play a role in developing, managing and advertising these tours and initiatives.
Competitions and quizzes could be organised to promote knowledge of Durban’s artistic and cultural heritage. For example:
a. An online photograph archive could be created (possibly hosted on Imagine Durban’s website); culminating in a ‘best photo’ competition.
b. Quiz days aimed at school children could be organised with small prizes for competitors.
c. Newspapers could run ‘where is this?’ competitions, whereby random pictures of (past and present) places are given and readers are asked to respond with the relevant location (for a small reward). This would possibly stimulate some public interest, prompting residents/schoolchildren to do some research into Durban’s history.
Durban should have more public art festivals that activate artistic literacy throughout the city.
Various ‘Unique Durban’ or ‘Celebrate Durban’ events should be organized as a means of stimulating both foreign and local interest in the city’s artistic/cultural assets.
a. Current facilities and events should be assessed in terms of their timing and content/focus.
b. Certain events could be integrated and marketed under a single brand name.
Securing Institutional Support for the Arts and Heritage
A major issue raised during the workshop was the need for more recognition of Durban’s artistic and historical value from within the city (and particularly the municipality) itself – it was noted that internationally Durban is recognised and respected in these areas, but this interest doesn’t necessarily manifest locally. It is necessary for eThekwini Municipality and other spheres of government to take a proactive stance in providing both the space and resources for the creative arts to flourish. Various strategies are imperative in this regard:
Promotion of arts and culture should be reframed and treated as a Local Government function (presently this is not the case), through appropriate policy creation/changes. However, the municipality’s role must be well-defined and clear, as it was noted that various organisations (such as the KZN Arts Council and Durban Arts) have mandates to provide funding for the arts. Other steps that need to be taken include the following:
a. Where public funding for the arts is available, bureaucratic obstacles must be removed so that it is spent adequately.
b. A new mindset/policy approach must be developed towards supporting the arts.
i. Durban’s emerging artists require resources, which does not necessarily refer to money. One should consider that graffiti artists require only walls to create art; buskers merely require pavement space.
ii. The municipality could help to promote the local arts by providing resources as simple and readily available as lamppost advertising space. A good example is the Cascoland project that used available open spaces effectively.
c. Channels of communication must be forged between eThekwini Municipality and artistic/creative organisations as a means of empowering artists to identify and utilise sources of funding.
eThekwini Municipality should formulate partnerships with relevant education departments; as well as the Department of Arts, Culture and Tourism.
a. This should ensure that arts, as well as aspects of local natural and human history are within school curricula.
b. The partnerships should enable eThekwini to support educational programmes/initiatives through the provision of financial and infrastructural resources.
c. Imagine Durban was challenged to play a key role in ensuring that relevant institutions buy in and network appropriately.
Way Forward
This document will now be distributed to all the stakeholders who attended the theme workshop for their comments. Thereafter the group of people who volunteered to be Dream Keepers for the History, Heritage and Culture theme will be convened for a more detailed session to further develop the goals and strategies
