A National Trust for South Africa

Efforts by The Conservation Trust to establish a National Trust for South Africa are making good progress, and a founding conference is planned for August 2010 in Johannesburg, according to the project leader Mike Moriarty.

The Conservation Trust is a non-profit organisation based in Johannesburg. It focuses on heritage conservation initiatives in the Parktown Ridge Heritage area.

Spurred by the many unsustained efforts to protect valuable heritage assets in South Africa, the Trustees agreed in 2009 to explore the possibility of establishing a National Trust for South Africa which would have as its overall objective the protection, preservation and conservation of heritage assets in the country.

“A wide range of consultations took place, resulting the calling of a consultative conference on 5 September 2009 in Johannesburg. The conference was attended by more than 50 organisations, individuals, government officials and businessmen involved in or supportive of heritage preservation in South Africa,” says Moriarty.

The conference overwhelmingly agreed that there was a need to have a National Trust for South Africa. To this end, a steering committee was nominated to work on how to take the idea forward, he says.

“We are buoyed by the positive feedback and opportunities presented since the consultative conference. Work is currently at the stage where various legal issues related to the establishment of a public benefit organisation called The National Trust of South Africa are being sorted out. We are planning to hold a founding conference in Johannesburg in August this year,” he says.

“We are also in the final stages of setting up a website, and of producing a quarterly electronic newsletter, and we would like to request input from all interested individuals and organisations in the form of content and photographs,” he says.

Website
All editorial contributions for the website are welcome. Moriarty says contributions for the following sections of the website are requested:
• Links to useful sites
• Calendar of events- list of upcoming events, activities
• Articles addressing the issue of “Heritage at Risk”
• Your input on your favourite heritage site or place (for the section titled, “this place matters!”)
• Your list of 10 most popular heritage assets in SA
• Your list of 10 most at risk heritage assets in SA
• Database of assets (whatever contribution you can make to this will be gladly received)
• List of useful documents (can be pdf’s or links to download the pdf’s).
• Photographs of key assets (both of those in good repair; and for those in disrepair).

Editorial board
Moriarty says a quarterly electronic newsletter is planned, with the first newsletter aimed to go out around March.

“We would like to appoint an editorial board for the newsletter, and invite recommendations of people who will be able to assist with shaping the content of the newsletter to make it meaningful and relevant. 

“Recommendations can be emailed to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address); or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Please remember to provide all relevant contact details for the person you nominate.”

Editor’s Note: If you would like to know more about the National Trust initiative, please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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