Ryan Swano
The Inaugural Roots, Culture, Heritage & Decolonisation Week of the Adwa Movement is an Exciting & Vibrant way to take The Decolonisation Project into the Future. It kicks off with a Dope Pre-Launch Concert, the Exciting Inaugural RCHD Week Launch Event, Film Screenings, Key Note Addresses and Panel Discussions, a San Bushman Fire Dance Ceremony, Music Performances, Poetry, and culminates in a Vibrant March Through Cape Town to Celebrate Victories at the Battles of Salt River & The Battle of Adwa.
The Inaugural RCHD Week, from 26 February to 1 March 2025 aims to Address Decolonisation while Celebrating Roots, Culture & Heritage, celebrating 515 Years Since Victory at The Battle of Salt River in 1510 and 129 Years Since Victory at The Battle of Adwa in 1896.
It also commemorates the 140th anniversary of the 1885 Berlin Conference that fomented the multitude of colonial ills, continued exploitation and proxy wars that Africa is still dealing with today.
The mix of Vibrant Celebratory Activities and Serious Issues need not be confusing nor should it be boring. The Inaugural RCHD Week organised by the Adwa Movement injects excitement, fun, a sense of unity and cultural pride into dealing with the serious issue of Decolonisation.
We have all the details of all the free events, activities, film screenings, live performances and panel discussions, Indigenous ceremonies, and the Adwa x Salt River Victories Parade.
WEEKLONG PROGRAM OF VIBRANT ACTIVITIES
Ras Hein Scheepers, the Public Relations Officer of the Adwa Movement said: “We are honoured to be a co-constructor of a weeklong programme that raises awareness about decolonisation which is intended to educate the public in understanding the effects of the historical legacies of the Berlin Conference and how it continues to impact the underdevelopment of the continent. While reflecting on the past, the project will also be setting its sight on the progressive future for Africa and its peoples”
From revolutionary Hip Hop artists like Isaac Mutant to Indigenous Culture Activists like Bradlox van Sitters, from Indigenous Knowledge Systems Exhibits to Film Screening, from Poetry to Jazz, and from Keynote Speakers and Panel Discussions to A Vibrant March led by Rasta Nyahbingi Drum Rhythms, the RCHD Week Daily events are family friendly, informative, highly inspirational and absolutely free.
SUPER LINEUP FOR PRE-LAUNCH CONCERT
Kicking off the RCHD Week, Cape Catacombs at Trenchtown in Observatory is a Free Pre-Launch Concert on Tuesday 25 February with a massive lineup that includes prominent artists whose repertoires range from Revolutionary Hip Hop to Roots Reggae.
Featured Artists, Groups and DJ’s include Kape Kullid Khoi, Isaac Mutant, Mr Griep, Niko10Long, Natasha Tafari, Umhambi Wenclela, Tylor Afrika, TheeBlackSheeeep, Empress Naphtali, MxGNS, RA 1, Black Rose Project, Big Belly Bufu, DJ REALrozzano, Lawd Zexaw, Black Athena, Raheem Beatbox, Kaalvoet Princess & Ivor Carl.
Entrance to Cape Catacombs at Trenchtown is Free and the event kicks off with a documentary screening from 5pm till 6pm. That is followed by an Open Mic Session until 7pm which is when the live scheduled performances will start.
OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF THE INAUGURAL RCHD WEEK
Adwa Movement will host an exciting Social Engagement Launch Event at the Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town on 26 February 2025 from 18:00 TO 20:00 bringing together scholars, practitioners, activists, and the public to discuss the divisive legacy of the Berlin Conference and envision a peaceful, united, and prosperous Africa.
The aim is to foster a deeper understanding of the Berlin Conference’s enduring effects on Africa and encourage dialogue on the continent’s future through scholarly unpacking of the historical legacy of the Berlin Conference and its impact on contemporary African nationhood.
The Launch Event of the inaugural annual commemorative programme, featuring influential African voices and artists with keynote addresses from established thinkers and authors discussing Africa’s future beyond the impositions of Europe’s colonial project.
The main Keynote Speakers at the Launch Event will be Patric Tariq Mellet & Dr. Wandile Kasibe.
*You Can Read More about the Keynote Speakers Futher Below
PANEL DISCUSSIONS ON INDIGENOUS AFRICAN CULTURE
On Thrusday 27 February 2025 from 18:00 to 20:00 three experts on our Indigenous Culture will hold Panel Discussions and a Q&A Session at the Castle of Good Hope, Cape Town.
On the panel is Annelize Kotze is the Curator of Indigenous Culture and Identity at the Iziko Museums of South Africa. There’s also Dr. Asher Gamedze who is a cultural worker based in Cape Town, and Masixole Mlandu is currently pursuing his Master’s degree in African studies focussing on black studies particularly settler colonialism in post-Apartheid South Africa.
**You Can Read More about the Panelists Futher Below
FILM SCREENINGS AT IZIKO MUSEUMS
Four award-winning films explore themes of land, language and heritage and will be followed by reflective discussion with Filmmakers Kurt Orderson and Adrian Van Wyk of Azania Rizing Productions moderated by Annelize Kotze, Iziko Museums Curator of Culture and Identity.
The Film Screening Event will be held on Friday 28 February 2025 at the T H Barry Lecture Hall, Iziko South African Museum, 25 Queen Victoria Road, Cape Town from 13:00 to 16:00.
For more details on the films being screened, see our article Free Film Screenings at Roots Culture Heritage & Decolonisation Week
Due to a Limited Number of Seats Available, Booking is Essential
RSVP / Enquire: Ras Hein 0847878033
INDIGENOUS FIRE CEREMONY
Bradley van Sitters is a world renowned Indigenous Southern African Languages activist and community languages researcher. He is chair of the A/Xarra Languages Commission and Khoekhoegowab teacher of the UCT-certificated course from 2019 – 2022. He has been admitted to an MPhil in Pan African languages in Linguistics and African Studies based on Recognition of Prior Learning.
WATCH Bradlox Speaking to DJ Ready D about Khoikhoi Indigenous Language on Goodhope FM
He was the designated Praise Singer for the State of the Nation Address in 2019, to mark 25 years of South Africa’s democracy. He is widely cited in academic journals.
Van Sitters is also well-respected in the Hip Hop Movement in which he is known by his moniker Bradlox Vans.
ADWA x SALT RIVER VICTORY PARADE
On 1 March 2025 grassroots communities and civil society organisations will join the Adwa Movement in convening the 10th annual Adwa victory parade in Cape Town CBD. The Adwa Movement hosts this critical and exciting celebration of Africa’s earliest confrontations with colonialism that resulted in African victories over invading European forces. The parade commemorates one of the most consequential moments in Africa’s historical trajectory. The Ethiopian victory at the Battle of Adwa paved the way for the international Pan-African movement and anti-colonial resistance that shaped the liberation struggles of many African countries.
The march also commemorates the Victory at The Battle of Salt River on 1 March 1510 in which a small clan of Khoena at the Cape defeated the invasion attempt by a Portuguese fleet led by Francisco de Almeida.
This victory served as a warning to potential colonisers and paved the way for the Khoena at the Cape to run their own trade port servicing thousands of European ships until 1652. It was 152 years after the Battle of Salt River that Jan van Riebeeck staged a violent hostile takeover of our ancestor’s thriving sea port business.
WATCH 9th Annual Adwa x Salt River Victory Parade 2024
RCHD WEEK & THE GROWTH OF ADWA MOVEMENT ANNUAL COMMEMORATIONS
The events spread across the inaugural Roots, Culture, Heritage & Decolonisation Week – RCHD Week 2025 will illuminate the remembrance and regeneration of a Glorious Africa.
After a decade of annually hosting the Adwa x Salt River Victory Parade in Cape Town on 1 March, Adwa Movement and their partners aim to grow the RCHD Week to one of the most important entries on Cape Town and Africa’s Annual Cultural Events Calendar.
According to Ras Hein Scheepers, Public Relations Officer of the Adwa Movement, Adwa Movement was started by Activists from within the Rastafarian Community, and thus at first the Adwa x Salt River Victory marches were primarily attended by Rastafarians, but as collaboration grew with civil society organisations, activists and academics over the past decade, the annual Victory Parade has grown with inclusion of many beyond the Rasta community.
“Our aim is to make the Roots, Culture, Heritage and Decolonisation Week as inclusive as possible and create social awareness of how these four pillars of RCHD Week are interconnected, not only in terms of our collective history but also how very important it is for our future as Africans.”
As an official media partner of RCHD Week, we at Bruinou.com look forward to seeing you at all the exciting & vibrant free events hosted by the Adwa Movement, along with various other organisations and stakeholders.
See more about Keynote Speakers and Panelists Further Below.
*ABOUT THE KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Patric Tariq Mellet was born born and raised in the Salt River, Woodstock and District Six districts of Cape Town. He is a former liberation movement cadre, who returned from exile in 1990. His MSc dissertation from Buckinghamshire New University is titled: Heritage Tourism – Cape Slavery and Indigenous People. In 2009 his work on the intangible heritage of the Cape received a Western Cape Provincial Honours award. In 2019 the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture appointed him to the Governance Council of the South African Heritage Resources Agency. Patric Tariq Mellet is also the author of the book The Lie of 1652.
Dr. Wandile Kasibe graduated with a PhD in Sociology from the University of Cape Town (UCT) in 2020 and his thesis is entitled, “Museums and the Construction of Race Ideologies in South Africa”. Kasibe is a critical and decolonial thinker who operates in the interdisciplinary realm of heritage, museology, fine art, sociology, photography, general politics and curatorial practices. He has published in various publications, served on numerous boards including the National Arts Council of South Africa (NAC), The University of Cape Town (UCT) and many others.
**MORE ABOUT THE INDIGENOUS CULTURE PANELISTS
Annelize Kotze is the Curator of Indigenous Culture and Identity at the Iziko Museums of South Africa. She has a Master’s Degree in Archaeology from the University of Cape Town (UCT), focusing on Cultural Identity of Khoe, San and Coloured Women.
Annelize currently holds the title of President of the Commonwealth Association of Museums (CAM) and is the Chairperson of the Western Cape division of South Africa Museums Association (SAMA). She is a huge advocate for decolonising museum spaces, the most important of which is the reburial and return of ancestral remains as well as objects from communities still in museums, and giving previously marginalised and silenced communities, a voice in spaces where they were misrepresented.
Dr. Asher Gamedze is a cultural worker based in Cape Town, South Africa working mainly as a musician, student, a writer, an organizer, and an educator. He completed a PhD on the history, thought, and political tradition of the Yu Chi Chan Club. As a writer and a researcher, his interests include African history, histories of revolutionary thought and practice, Black cultural production, and
radical pedagogy. His written work is published in a variety of online popular and news forums, academic journals and independent activist publications, including: Chimurenga, Pathways to Free Education, Publica[c]tion, The Funambulist, and NewFrame.
Masixole Mlandu is currently pursuing his Master’s degree in African studies. His work focuses on black studies particularly settler colonialism in (post)-apartheid South Africa. He is part of the Azanian Philosophical School a reading and thinking space that is concerned about philosophy, its past and its present as it relates to black people. He was also at the forefront of the Rhodes Must Fall and Fees Must Fall Movement which are movements fighting for the de-commodification and decolonization of education.
