Date :25 April 2012

Time :12:00 – 14:00

Contributions, experiences and sacrifices: Post-liberation knowledge production and nation building by military veterans

“Emancipating the African voice: PAC/APLA Military veterans speak”

Venue: Freedom Park, Pretoria

Please find an invitation attached. Freedom Park, in collaboration with the Research use and Impact (RIA) Unit within the HSRC (Human Science Research Council) invite you to a seminar titled “Emancipating the African voice: PAC/APLA Military veterans speak”, that will be held at Freedom Park on 25 April 2012. This seminar is conceptualized, planned and presented under the Human Sciences Research Council seminar series initiated during 2011 in partnership with Government and Non-Governmental Organizations under the title: “Contributions, Experiences & Sacrifices: Post-liberation knowledge production and nation building by military veterans.” 

A series of six seminars aimed at creating spaces for critical dialogue, learning and engagement with the history of struggle and resistance in South Africa and to investigate meaning in and relevancies for contemporary society has been scheduled. The seminars are in recognition of the contributions made by a vast number of heroes and heroines that fought from grassroots levels for our democracy. The approach adopted for each seminar is to focus on a book authored by a military veteran, based on a theme/themes that explore the range of contributions, experiences and sacrifices made by ex-combatants of the military wings of the main liberation movements such as MK, APLA, AZANLA, Statutory Forces, and non-statutory forces. This seminar, which will present the third seminar in the series, will thus pay tribute to the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) for the contributions made towards South Africa’s liberation from Apartheid through its armed wing APLA. In this regard, the seminar will honor Mxolisi Mgxashe, a PAC activist, more fondly known as “Bra Ace” who has written a book titled: “Are you with us: the story of a PAC activist”.

“Emancipating the African voice: PAC/APLA Military veterans speak” fits squarely with the mandate of Freedom Park, to emancipate the African voice and to foster reconciliation, social cohesion and nation building in the country. Due to its specific nature of producing literary work, this seminar will provide a platform to deepen the debate on the politics of knowledge production, particularly in recording our past and exposing the silence on alternative narratives of history, politics and society.

Your participation in this seminar will be very much appreciated.

Kindly indicate your availability before 23 April 2012.

Tembeka Ngcebetsha Senior Researcher Tel: +27 (0)12 336 4091, Fax: +27 (0)12 336 4021, Mobile: +27 (0)79 500 6476,  E-mail: Thembekan@freedompark.co.za      

or

Arlene Grossberg, Research Use and Impact Assessment, Human Sciences Research Council, Tel: (012) 302 2811, e-mail: acgrossberg@hsrc.ac.za