​On Sunday, 24 October 2023, thousands of Gauteng residents across all five corridors descended to the West Rand Region to celebrate heritage day at Munsieville sports complex near Krugersdorp. The event was meant to create awareness on the importance of liberation heritage as a vehicle to foster social cohesion, nation building, economic development, and inclusive citizenship. 
Annually, September marks Heritage Month in South Africa’s calendar as we celebrate the rich and diverse cultural traditions and heritage. The theme for this year’s Heritage Month is: “Celebrating our cultural diversity in a democratic South Africa”.

Addressing the crowd, Gauteng MEC for Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation Morakane Mosupyoe highlighted the importance of celebrating Heritage Day. She said it is a day that invokes our history as the province, as communities, as families and as individuals. It is a day on which our multi-faceted but very rich and positive identities are reasserted.

“This is a day where we reaffirm our South Africaness, united in diversity, and we are a proud rainbow nation with 12 official languages across our beautiful country, and today we take a look at all our unique cultures that make us one of the most diverse countries in the word”, said Mosupyoe.

She added that they are proud as the province of Gauteng to join the rest of the country in celebrating their cultural diversity despite their small size geographically. She said Gauteng is the most cosmopolitan province which reflects the world community.

Young people came in their numbers, and one of them was 23-year-old Lesedi Thabane, who said Heritage Day means to be proud of one’s identity. “I am proud of being a Mosotho young man and this day mean exactly that, to be proud and wear our traditional attires, so that we can show the world who we are”.

Another young person in attendance was Palesa Makgama (19), who reminded government that although we are celebrating our Africaness, we must not forget that young people are still carrying a heavy burden where they have to endure lack of opportunities and inequalities.