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Garden of knowledge mapped

Mongane Wally Serote, chief executive officer of the Freedom Park Trust, talks about the memorial park. The commemorative garden, from where the visitor has a magnificent view of the Voortrekker Monument, the Union Buildings and the Unisa campus, has been created to celebrate the heroes and heroines of South Africa's struggle past. Pic: Dudu Zitha. © Sunday Times. Circa March 2004
Mongane Wally Serote, chief executive officer of the Freedom Park Trust, talks about the memorial park. The commemorative garden, from where the visitor has a magnificent view of the Voortrekker Monument, the Union Buildings and the Unisa campus, has been created to celebrate the heroes and heroines of South Africa's struggle past. Pic: Dudu Zitha. © Sunday Times. Circa March 2004

Chester Makana

Chester Makana

The Freedom Park Trust has revealed plans to build an Indigenous Knowledge System garden at Freedom Park hill in Pretoria.

The garden will showcase different African cultural geneses and lifestyles.

According to Mongane Wally Serote, chairman of Freedom Park Trust (FPT), meetings were held in the country as part of consultations to get input as to how the garden should look.

Serote said the centre will be composed of a museum and garden that will contain the story of Africa and the challenges faced by Africans under colonialism. The information will be available in both manual and digital formats.

"We will have the story of the Cradle of Humankind as soon as the structure is put in place.

"Research will be undertaken to determine the veracity of the saying - 'human creation started in Africa'," said Serote.

Construction of the garden is expected to start in October and will be completed in March next year.

According to Jane Mufamadi, coordinator of special projects at Freedom Park Trust, other aspects that the garden will house are issues on early ancestry, industrialisation, nation and continent building.

"The information that will be found in museums will also help students and researchers to gain a better understanding of Africa," said Mufamadi.

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