A strategic framework for marking ten years of freedom

A nodal point for South Africa

The tenth anniversary on 27 April 2004 will…

• End the first decade of freedom and begin the next
• Recall the action of the South African people in 1994
• Be a time to:
  • celebrate
  • review progress
  • build a better and more united SA
  • assess challenges in alignment with Nepad, UN Millennium goals, African century and a better world.
• Celebrate constitution; consolidate legitimacy of democratic state
• Consolidate emergence of national identity; consensus on projecting selves to the world.
• Bring opportunity for international positioning and marketing
• Reinvigorate transformation of solidarity in struggle into partnership for reconstruction and development

Celebrations, culminating in 27 April 2004 …

• Formal ceremonies and spontaneous popular events
• National and international, incorporating programmes of SA missions in national plans
• Contributions from every sector
• Happening over many months.

Challenges and issues

A challenge of leadership …

• Coherence to many, varied, widespread activities; impossible to manage beyond a formal core.
  

A challenge of vision …

• Character and meaning of central events
• Framework of message, symbolism, themes
• Phasing for wider celebrations.

A challenge of co-ordination …

Apart from core events, ensuring in broader process:

• Use of limited resources, deployment of people
• Synergy of event plans and media plans

A challenge of timing …

• Relationship between celebrations, elections and inauguration
• Popularise vision for celebrations before election creates climate of possible contestation over their character.

Components of the process

Departments and agencies busy planning, thinking. . .

• DAC – Funds for national events and processes
• DFA – Promotes and co-ordinates activities by missions
• Presidency/PCAS – Ten-Year Review Process
• GCIS – Communications team involving all departments
• Int. Marketing Council; Proudly S African; SA Tourism
  – celebrations a special opportunity
• All departments, provinces making plans

Framework for phasing and message

A coherent, uniform message to be developed, answering to:

• unity in action for change in the lives of all South Africans
• global positioning of South Africa.

Themes would include:

• Celebration of freedom attained, and thanksgiving
• Pride in our nation’s achievements since 1994
• Forward looking, to further progress, democracy, stability
• Inclusivity – South Africans, international partners
• Humility – acknowledging that management of social change is itself a process of learning. 
  

Core message and logo

Core message/slogan

CELEBRATING TEN YEARS OF FREEDOM
A people united for a better South Africa and a better world

In the current phase:

TOWARDS TEN YEARS OF FREEDOM

Logo

A dominant “10” and 1994 election graphic defining images, and little detail for reproduction purposes

Phases

Phase 1: Pre-communication phase
State of the Nation Address 2003 – Freedom Day 2003

• State of the Nation Address met the need for an early government communication signal
• This set the stage for those sectors that need to begin communication, for example in tourism.

Phase 2: The Tenth Year of Freedom begins
Freedom Day, 27 April 2003 – State of the Nation Address 2004

• Freedom Day this year marked the beginning of the tenth year of freedom
• Activities not inherently related to the celebrations – e.g. national days – will be seen in that context. While avoiding overemphasis on the theme, messages loosely linked to the framework will help coherence
• Reference to the 10th anniversary should be : “Towards Ten Years of Freedom…”

Phase 2: April 2003 – February 2004

• Freedom Day reference and initiation of activities
• Consultative processes – intra-government, parties, civil society
• Heritage Day linked to Proudly South African; Day of Reconciliation
• Profile plans and events in US, UK, Africa, Asia
• National Orders appropriately branded
  

Phase 2: September 2003 – February 2004

• The election campaigns will start around this period and political parties will assume dominant role in communication
• Main challenge: to get national message through above election clutter and sensation upon which the media feed
• The media will start with review of ten years months before the anniversary
  

Phase 3: State of the Nation Address 2004 – April 2004 and elections

• Ten-Year review around State of the Nation Address
• Critical decisions include structuring of events in this period, e.g. five or six major official government events to hang the anniversary around, e.g.:
  • Freedom Park
  • 10th anniversaries of SANDF/public service
• Other creative inputs to come from consultations
• Internationally the theme could weave through other events:
  • UK, US, African and other Missions’ plans
  • Two or three state visits
  • Special 10th anniversary WEF, etc
  • UN, AU events
• Planning should take account of election campaign clutter

Phase 4: From the first decade of freedom to the next – celebrations Freedom Day and Inauguration of new government

• The period of celebration – culminating on 27 April in events across the country and the world
• The core celebration event will need special planning and conceptualisation with both political and creative input
• Other major events around this period include:
  • Anniversary of the national flag
  • Anniversary of the inauguration of the first President and Executive Deputy Presidents on 10 May.

Phase 5: Sustaining the platform created through the celebrations For some time after the celebrations

• Each of the national days and other events during the course of the year will need to be branded accordingly.
  

Structures and processes

Planning, preparation and co-ordination structures

• Parallel to the Executive Mechanism, there should be a Stakeholder Forum bringing together representatives of the IMPC and leaders of civil society structures, say quarterly
• Parliament and other legislatures are expected to plan their own events, and there would be need for liaison through existing formal channels
• A process of consultation to get buy-in and co-ordination of gov structures around preparations and proposed vision:
  • National departments
  • Provinces
  • Local government through the metros
  • SALGA and the City Network
  • Parastatals
  • Representation of South Africa’s foreign missions in whatever form possible.
• A second phase of building support and involvement on a more bilateral basis, with sectors of civil society.
  
  

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