Competition details for the 2011 Nkosi Albert Luthuli Young Historians’ Award have been announced.
The Award, open to all learners from Grade 8 to Grade 11, is a national oral history project organised by the Department of Education in partnership with South African History Online.
Details and guidelines are available from the South African History Online website.
Learners will be required to research and prepare a presentation or a documentary film or video on one of the following topics:
(i) The changing heritage landscape of South Africa:
Learners could investigate the history behind a heritage site and its
significance to the history of the village/region/town. They could
focus on burial sites, monuments, statues and how local people interpret
these sites.
(ii) Alternatively, learners could interrogate/
investigate two heritage sites in one town/city; one representing the
period before 1994 and the other representing national unity and
reconciliation in post 1994 democratic South Africa.
- Learners could also investigate an undeclared
heritage site and submit a portfolio that could in turn be sent to the
South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA).
- Unsung heroes and heroines: The role of
ordinary men/ women in democracy, change and development. Learners
should focus on those men/ women who were never publicly acknowledged.
Learners could choose a period either before or after 1994.
- The history of traditional leadership in my area: Most
rural communities live under the administration of traditional
leadership. The institution of traditional leadership in democratic
South Africa continues to play an important role in local economic,
social and cultural development. Learners could research the history of
traditional leadership in a local area and its importance to local
development.
- The history of my school: The learner
is expected to interview members of the community who were involved in
the establishment of the school. They could also interview former
students of the school and establish how the school is linked to local
history;
- The significant places of worship: Learners
could interview the members/ leaders of faith based organisations and
investigate the history behind a spiritual space of worship. This space
could be a mountain, river, building or open field;
- The refugees in South Africa: South
Africa has attracted many people from different parts of the world,
especially after the introduction of democracy in 1994. The majority of
these refugees left their countries in search of a better life and
others are victims of political persecution in their own countries.
Learners could investigate the plight of refugees in South Africa and
make recommendations on how to treat refugees in a country that
promotes a human rights culture. Learners are expected to interview
refugees as well as locals.
- The history of transport: Transport
systems are an important part of the country’s social and economic
development. South Africa has experienced transport change and
development over a period of time. For example, learners could
interview parents/ grandparents who used the railway system during the
20th century and also investigate how the local economy was linked to
the railways. The railway, for example, was also a major employer in
the previous century and they could also interview former employees of
the railways. Learner projects could also cover the deserted railway
stations/settlements/ donkey carts communities. Learners could also
investigate the introduction of bus and taxi services in their local
areas.
- The history of sport/ cultural group: Sport/
cultural clubs contributed to the shaping of many people’s characters.
For example, each town/ village has soccer, cricket, tennis and
netball clubs, choir or social club. Learners could interview older
members of the teams and establish how those clubs or teams were formed
and how they shaped the lives of many people in the community.
- The history of the liberation struggle in South Africa.
For example, learners could chronicle the historiography of the
liberation struggle, tracing it back to early colonial conquests, the
formation of the South African Native National Congress and subsequent
political parties that played a role in the liberation struggle.
Learners may also elect to focus on the role of the trade union
movement in the liberation struggle. Further, the role played by
traditional chiefs and some of the homeland statesmen could also be
interrogated.