In his opening speech at the launch of the National History Project, Prof. Kader Asmal stated that a well rounded education "should certainly embody those qualities transmitted by history: to possess an informed sense of the past, to learn from it, to allow it to inform our critical understanding of the world we inhabit, to be receptive to voices other than our own, and to know who we are, and why it is we are the people we have become." This colloquium examines how cultural heritage can be a part of that educational mission, not only in formal schooling, but also where publics and heritage so often meet: at festivals, in museums, at monuments and heritage sites.

It offered sessions on a multitude of critical issues in the relationship between the heritage sector and the processes and institutions of education in South Africa. The colloquium showcased model heritage education projects across South Africa, including the use of festivals as educational vehicles, tourism and heritage, the National Curriculum Proposals from the Ministry of Education, tertiary education and formal heritage training, community interactions and the creating of new audiences through heritage, and heritage and the school system. The participants came from all over South Africa, from large, established heritage organizations, small museums and sites, and educational institutions at all levels. Facilitators and panelists included Luli Callinicos (Freedom Park), June Bam (South African History Project), Bronwyn James, Albert Ward (Dexter Elmhurst Center, Detroit); Lonnie Bunch (Chicago Historical Society); Deirdre Prins (Robben Island Museum). Represented organizations included the Robben Island Museum, University of the Western Cape, National Archives of South Africa, the University of Durban-Westville Documentation Centre, Michigan State University Museum, MATRIX: Center for the Humane Arts, Letters, and Social Sciences Online, the African Studies Center of Michigan State University, Campbell Collections of the University of Natal-Durban, Smithsonian Institution Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, and the Chicago Historical Society.

Minister of Education Kader Asmal will opened the colloquium with remarks at a special reception. The conference was organized by the South African members of the Project's Binational Steering Committee. Contact the Project Director, Dr. Peter Knupfer of Michigan State University, for more information.