Report by Ebbe, Helen and Meg- March 2011

Time Travel Project Alla Tiders Historia

Visit to Port Shepstone and KwaZulu-Natal 9-19 March 2011

9 March        Helen Eklund and Ebbe Westergren arrive in Durban and Port Shepstone

Planning meeting with the Port Shepstone Twinning Association, Port Shepstone Time Travel Committee and the IT project HCM-Oskarshamn. 16 persons.

10 March     Preparations

                        Meeting at the Port Shepstone museum

Workshop at 12-16, at the new IT-centre; Thusong center, in Nyandezulu, on IT, Folkbildning and Time Travels. 33 persons from Nyandezulu community, a primary school, Hibiscus Coast Municipality, Port Shepstone Museum, PS Twinning, Oskarshamns municipality, Kalmar County Museum. Presentations by Stefan Windh and Ebbe Westergren. Introduction by the Mayor of HCM , Mme Susha. A Time Travel Committee in Nyandezulu was formed consisting of 18 persons with Mzi and Caphela as chairperons.

11 March     Meeting with Gulshera Khan and Bekhani Zondi, History Curriculum Advisor.

Workshop at 15-19, with the Heritage/ Time Travel Committee in Gamalakhe. 16 persons alltogether. The workshop began with a visit to a man who talked about the forced removal for his family from Margate to Gamalakhe in the mid 1960s; also visiting heritage sites like the first bus station, Tin Town with the first church and the tins.

Discussion at the   Gamalkhe Library with the committee about research, interviews, sites, scenarios, first Time Travels etc.

12 March     Meg Nömgård arrives in Durban. Trip to Drakensberg mountains.

13 March     Visit Rock Art sites at Giant’s Castle in the Drakensberg

                        Evening: Preparations

14 March     Visit Marburg Primary, Marburg Secondary and Nobamba Secondary schools.

Seminar, 14-16 at the B&B, on organising a Bridging Ages KZN. 20 persons from PS Twinning Association, Gamalakhe Time Travel Committe, Nyandezulu Time Travel Committee, Marburg Secondary, Marburg Primary and Nobamba Secondary Schools, Child Welfare, KZN Museum Service, Port Shepstone Museum, Department of Education, Kalmar County Museum.

Decided to move forwards to form a Bridging Ages KZN. An interim committee was elected consisting of 8 persons plus substitutes: KZN Musuem Service- Mark Sole with Nelly as substitue and Dolly Khumalo overseer, Umzumbe Time Travel Committe-Howard Msomi, Nyandezulu Time Travel Committee-Mzi with Caphela as substutute, Gamalakhe Time Travel Committee- Thulas Mkhize, Department of Education- Beghani Zondi and Ravi Pather, Port Shepstone Museum- Sipho with Penny as substitute, Educators – Judy Mkhize and Silvy Ragobaar, Port Shepstone Twinning Association – Gulshera Khan. First meeting was decided to the 31 March.

Meeting with teachers and principle at Marburg Primary School about a possible San Time Travel.

Meeting with Bekhani Zondi and Gulshera Khan about Time Travels and the curriculum.

15 March     Leaving for Pietermeritzburg.

Meeting at Natal Museum with the Director Luthando Maphasa and archaelogist Gavin Whitelaw.

Meeting with Radikobo Ntsimane, Sinomlando Centre for Oral History and Memory Work at University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Lecture about the Time Travel method, Bridging Ages and the Swedish Reformation for a class of students attending a course for Radikobo at UKZN.

Meeting at Voortrekker/Msunduzi Museum with the Director Bongani Ndhlovu, the Head of Education, Liaison and Outreach, Riana Mulder and the Head of Research, Information and Collection, Mxholisi Mchunu.

Going to Eshowe. Planning meeting at Zululand Historical Museum, Fort Nongqayi, with the manager Zameka Umlalazi and Ida Gartrell, artist, costume designer and story teller.

16 March   Taking part in the Sama KZN Conference at Zululand Historical Museum. 51 delegates from museums and heritage organisations in KZN, i.e. the KZN Museum Service, Amafa (the Heritage Organisation of KZN), Talana museum in Dundee, Fort Amiel museum in Newcastle, Art Museum in Newcastle, Ncome museum, Voortrekker/Msunduzi museum, Natal museum, Port Shepstone Museum, a Victorian House Museum in PMB, Zululand Historical Museum and others.

Preparations for the Time Travel the next day.

17 March     Conference continues, preparations.

                  At 14-17 Time Travel to 1906 at the Fort Nongqayi. 50 conference delegates from museums and heritage organisations plus 18 learners, grade 5 and 6, and one teacher from a school close by.

                  Story telling evening.

18 March Workshop 9-12 am by Meg and Ebbe at Shakaland for staff from Amafa and Shakaland. 6 persons from Amafa- director Barry Marshall, assistant director Lindiwe Msomi and staff from Ondini and Mgungundlovu. From Shakaland mainly the Finance Manager Deena Naidoo.

                   Presentation in Durban by Helen, Gulshera and Judy for the 16 FET History Curriculum Advisors in KZN, chairperson Bekhani Zondi.

                  Sum up meeting in Durban with Gulshera Khan.

19 March     Meg, Helen and Ebbe leave Durban for Cape Town

                        Meeting in Cape Town with Senior Curriculum Advisor Gail Weldon

Conclusions:

• ·         Positive and warm atmosphere as usual in Port Shepstone.

• ·      An advantage to have a workshop combining IT, folkbildning and Time Travels as in Nyandezulu. The Thusong Multipurpose Center will be used as a gathering and Internet research centre for the Nyandezulu community.

• ·         Nyandezulu Time Travel Committee was formed, chairpersons Mzi and Caphela. They decided to have regular meetings (study circle) starting the week after the workshop. Follow the seven steps starting to identify sites and stories

•     The Gamalakhe Time Travel Committee, chairperson Thulas, is making progress and meet regularly (study circle). They have made 5-6 interviews focusing on the forced removal to Gamalakhe in the end of the 1960s. 4-5 alternative stories/scenarios for a Time Travel was discussed and also schools to be involved.

• ·         Positive meeting about forming a Bridging Ages KZN. A committee was elected to prepare for the organisation – stakeholders, board, constitution, funding etc

• ·       Discussions about having the Bridging Ages South Africa annual conference as part of the launch of Bridging Ages KZN, but only if Mpumalanga can’t make it.

• ·        The Time Travel to the middle of the Bambatha rebellion in March 1906 at the Sama KZN conference was very interesting. The Zulu perspective that was chosen was a new and different way of telling the story of Fort Nongqayi. It was a very big engagement from most of the participants by protesting, shouting and singing. Most participants made their character into a person who wanted an uprising and Fort Nongqayi was seen as a sign of oppression. The learners were very active in the Time Travel. A few of the museum staff were not really comfortable with the situation and the perspectives of the history.

• Fantastic words by the learners in the evaluation, talked about understand a little bit of the history of the fort and several also mentioned pride of their heritage. In the evaluation from the adults you could realize a difference between those how were not quite comfortable and those who loved the Time Travel. Zameka and staff of Zululand Historical Museum were very satisfied and want to continue

•  Possible cooperation with Natal museum as a result of the meeting at the museum and discussing with Sendile, the Deputy Director.

• ·         Positive discussions at Voortrekker/Msunduzi museum.

• ·         Good meeting at Shakaland with staff of Amafa. Barry Marshall and the staff showed an interest, open discussions.

• ·         Also positive meeting with the History Curriculum Advisors.

Way forwards:

• An interim committe is working on the organisation Bridging Ages KZN: stakeholders, constitution, interim board, funding etc. Plan for a launch in October

• ·         Gamalakhe Time Travel Committee continue to study, research and have regular meetings. Plan for 2-3 Time Travels  in Tin Town with two schools (Gamalakhe LP school, Buhlebeswe Primary school?) in October. An idea of the scenario needs to be proposed in June, July or no later than beginning of August. (Alternative scenarios mentioned at the meeting was A/ a new family moving in, even two families in one tin; B/1976 and discussion what to do in Gamalakhe; C/ Use the first church grounds but then a structure needs be put up). Prepare for a bigger Time Travel of maybe 100 persons at the launch of Bridging Ages KZN.

• ·     Radikobo will be asked by the PS Twinning to have a two day (Friday/Saturday?) training session about methods and techniques when interviewing people, for the Time Travel committees in Gamalakhe, Nyandezulu, Port Shepstone and Umzumbe, maxiumum 25 persons.

• ·         Nyandezulu Time Travel Committee will study, research and have regular meetings, to find heritage sites and stories. Plan for a one-day workshop in October visiting the sites, discussing stories and possible scenarios.

• ·        b More presentations for History Curriculum Advisors in May.

• Training sessions for Time Travel Committees connected to interested museums/ sites/Amafa in KZN and curriculum advisors/educators. Possible places/museums: Zululand Historical Museum, Ncome museum, Voortrekker/Msunduzi museum, Ondini/Mgungundlovu, Shakaland... The history curriculum advisor of each of the districts together with an intersted school need to be part of the work in the Time Travel committee/museum.

• Added people might be an engaged history curriculum advisor in one district that form a Time Travel Committee around a heritage site.
• Organisers of the training, probably KZN Museum Service, BA KZN interim committee and Kalmar läns museum.
• Sites/museums need to be confirmed in May/June/July. One idea is to have a first training session the first week in October (last week of the holidays) and a second in February 2012. In between the museums and Time Travel Committees will work on their stories and scenarios. After the second session the Time Travels will be arranged.
• ·         More detailed guidelines how to use the Time Travel method in the FET and GET curriculum needs to be written. Beghani, Gail and teachers (Silvy, Judy, Thulas). The plan is to use the guidelines in the training in early October presented by the authors.

• ·         Stefan Windh check the funding for translation of This place... into Zulu.

• Interest from Primary Schools and from the Time Travel Committe/Twinning to make a pilot project on local San sites. The PS Twinning will send a proposal to Amafa to getaccess to the records/knowledge of the precolonial/archaeological sites on the South Coast. Hopefully Natal museum will support in the interpretation of these sites. A plan is to have a workshop in Port Shepstone in October and that one of the sites is possible to use for Time Travels (shell midden at Oslo beach?).

• ·         Continued contacts with the Natal museum, maybe especially about precolonial history and archaeological sites.

• ·        b The Voortrekker/Msunduzi museum will discuss how Time Travels can be involved in the centennary of the museum 2012, maybe take a known history from another perspective. The church of the vow and making it into a museum in 1912 and see it from the Zulu/African perspective might be one option. There is a courtyarde suitable for Time Travels. A workshop on different aspects of the museum and church of the vow, as a start?

• ·         Three persons from HCM will, as a part of the project, go to Sweden for training and the Bridging Ages conference in Tallinn. Others could also be invited, i.e. Dolly Khumalo, Amafa.

• ·         Training in Sweden, 23/25 May-1 June, conference in Tallinn 3-6 June.

·         Next visit from the Swedish partners will be in October.

20 March 2011

Ebbe Westergren, Helen Eklund and Meg Nömgård

Kalmar läns museum