THE Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture (DSRAC) in the Eastern Cape has indicated that it will be working on digitising its museums, including the Bayworld Museum and Oceanarium in Nelson Mandela Bay.
This announcement was made by DSRAC MEC, Fezeka Nkomonye, during the recent celebrations held at Bayworld to commemorate International Museum Day.
Although International Museum Day falls on May 18, the event was held a few days later, to also incorporate celebrations for Africa Day on May 25.
“In the policy speech we indicated that we want to transform museums so that we digitise them; the information that we have is digitised and is made relevant to the younger generations, so we will be giving infrastructure to our museums to do so,” she said.
Emphasising the importance of museums, Nkomonye said that we learn from the past in order to mould today and the future that we all want.
“You must have noticed by now, after our tour of Bayworld, that this facility is unique in SA in that it incorporates a natural and cultural history museum, as well as a snake park, oceanarium and a house museum.
“Before the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown periods, this institution served up a feast of edutainment to hundreds of thousands of visitors each year,” she said.
“Despite a decrease in visitation, the institution continues to provide museum and related services to scholars, learners, educators and community members who love and value what is offered here.
“MBDA CEO, Ashraf Adam, and project manager, Dorelle Sapere, are working tirelessly to restore Bayworld to its former splendour and to integrate it into a larger municipal development effort,” Nkomonye added.
“This is a district development model initiative that aims at improving the coherence and impact of government service delivery with a focus on the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, as well as the development of local spaces that can be used as centres of service delivery and economic development, including job creation.”
Department of Education District Director, Ernest Gorgonzola, said that being at Bayworld reminded him of his childhood when he loved going to the museum.
“I loved to come here as a child to celebrate our history and learn about it. Museums play a critical role in our education and the lives of our children,” he added, also encouraging teachers to continue taking their learners to Bayworld.
Nelson Mandela Bay mayor, Eugene Johnson, also touched on the importance of museums, especially for young children.
“This is a very important day for us. It has reminded us as a city and as learners that this museum is important because of the animals that we have here.
“It will help us and them to preserve the animals and look after them, but also to learn about them because some of these animals will only be found here and not even in other parts of the province or the country,” she said.
“That is why we need to educate the children as well as all other citizens about the history of these animals and also get our residents to visit this place.
“We also need to ensure that Bayworld is marketed so that it can create revenue. We have a rich history and heritage but unless it is visited by our communities, schools and children, we would not be able to sustain it. We are encouraging support from the community so that Bayworld can once again become the attraction for tourists that it once was.”
Essay writing competition for learners
As part of the celebrations of the day, eight learners from eight districts that participated in an essay-writing competition were awarded for their work.
The learners were asked to write about the power of museums, with reference to journalist and musician, Reverend John Knox Bokwe, who died 100 years ago this year.
The top three learners received laptops and printers, and will be partaking in a summer school programme on Robben Island in October.
Each participating learner also received a laptop and each school will be receiving desktop computers.
The top spot went to the head boy of Uitenhage High School in Kariega, Ammaar Salie.
Speaking about his win, Salie said that before writing the essay, he didn’t even know of Bokwe’s existence but writing the essay was a unique learning experience that was both interesting and educational.
“Museums showcase our history and it is an important topic for South Africa, whose ancestors experienced the error of Apartheid.
“Museums help us to not repeat the mistakes of the past,” Salie said.
