Social cohesion in city
THE furore around Brett Murray’s controversial The Spear painting may be subsiding, but the eThekwini Municipality has heeded President Jacob Zuma’s call for social cohesion by holding a two-day work shop this week.
The workshop which will be held at Docklands Hotel, at the Point Waterfront, starting tomorrow, plans to explore different ways society can achieve social cohesion in the city
Durban mayor James Nxumalo said in light of the recent incidents of “racial intolerance and other social ills” taking place around the country, the municipality needed to find resolutions that could be developed into sustainable programmes that could be adopted to guide future policy.
“As much as we have progressed since 1994, the problem of racism still needs to be dealt with,” he said.
The workshop will focus on the role that sports, recreation, and arts and culture play in changing the country, building on the success of the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
“The World Cup was not only successful in economic and infrastructural terms, but also in rallying all South Africans under one banner,” Nxumalo said.
“As the eThekwini Municipality, we choose to act now and create a dream city where people live together in mutual respect and dignity, where your individual identity is affirmed in the context of our collective identity, and where you have to appreciate the diversity of the people while managing your culture.”
Anyone wanting to attend the workshop should e-mail: majozithabile@durban.gov.za to RSVP.