Evidence wa ka Ngobeni
South Africans who wish to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the June 16 Soweto uprising but cannot afford to attend the various events will for the first time honour the young heroes through cyberspace.
The South African History Online project (Saho) has published a special multimedia, interactive focus on its website to commemorate National Youth Day. Visitors to the site www.sahistory.org.za will be invited to make their own contributions, which will be posted on the site as it is updated on a regular basis.
Saho’s virtual June 16 focus will look at what gave rise to the bloodbath, the way in which the uprising spread to the rest of the country and the aftermath and consequences for South Africa.
The site will also contain personal accounts of activists who were involved in the uprising and those of ordinary residents who witnessed the historical event unfold.
“It is hoped that this site will be the beginning of a virtual record of a historical moment in South African history, which many commentators see as the beginning of the collapse of apartheid,” the organisation says.
Saho, which was established as an initiative to build a comprehensive database of South African history, aims to create an open, dynamic, and non-partisan website linked to schools and community-based outreach programmes.
The project is also linked to another programme involving the running of workshops for history teachers and the establishment of local history projects for learners.
“These programmes will enable young people to become engaged in the writing of their community histories, and will ultimately ensure that our learners have access to an Internet site that will reflect their experiences and give context to the notion of being African,” the organisation says.