Founded in 2011, the e’Bosch Heritage Project prides itself in helping to develop ways to promote social inclusion and eliminating social injustice in communities in the greater Stellenbosch area.
The project was officially launched on 27 August at Stellenbosch University Museum and is set to run until October with events and performances happening across communities in Stellenbosch.
The night was in part to launch the project but to also award outstanding initiatives and individuals doing great work in their communities, with this year’s theme being educational heritage.
Dr Sias Mostert, one of the project’s co-founders, notes that Stellenbosch is among the top 3 communities with the worst Gini coefficients in the world (the coefficient is an indicator of inequality within a country or community).
Dr Sias Mostert addresses attendees of the e’Bosch project launch, he co-founded the initiative in 2011. PHOTO: Sethu Mbuli
“We have inherited difference [from our past],” Mostert says, adding that the project hopes to build a bridge from what was inherited to the future of the greater Stellenbosch community. Mostert highlights that at the heart of the e’Bosch project is the concept of belonging, “we need to live in a town where everyone belongs.”
Kayamandi community worker, Paul Khambule was also present during the launch and highlights that this project is important in bringing people together. “It’s through the process where people share common interests or different opinions and then get together and agree to move in a particular direction,” he says.
“Because as we know, the majority of the population in Stellenbosch is Coloured, followed by Black then White. But you will find that the people who have more identity in Stellenbosch is the white community and no one else, so it’s important that all the communities are working together with the same goal,” Khambule adds.
Stellenbosch University (SU) rector and vice chancellor Wim de Villiers and Stellenbosch Mayor Gesie van Deventer also attended the launch.
SU rector Wim de Villiers says he is looking forward to seeing a more inclusive heritage programme. PHOTO: Sethu Mbuli
De Villiers highlighted that the university is not separate from the town, and how this became evident during the recent Huis ten Bosch fire with the amount of support the SU community received.
Meanwhile, Mayor van Deventer announced during the event that she has tabled the official renaming of places in town, which she says is her contribution to this year’s heritage project.