Topical discussions at the Clover Aardklop National Arts Festival

The Beeld Discourse series with discussions and lively debates is once again part of the programme at the Clover Aardklop National Arts Festival in Potchefstroom. The broad theme is identity in the current South Africa.
 

Freek Robinson, presenter of Robinson regstreeks and anchor of e.tv’s Afrikaans news on kykNET, will chair the discussions.
 

Apart from the opportunity to come and listen to experts in their respective fields the audience will also have the chance to participate.
 

The series commence on Wednesday 5 October with Afrikaans universities – an unrealistic dream? with Prof. Adam Habib, professor in political science and Vice Chancellor at the University of Johannesburg, and Dr Flip Buys, CEO of Solidarity, as the speakers. Solidarity is talking about creating a distance learning Afrikaans tertiary institution. The question is if there is room for such an institution in a country where there is a need to create a multicultural society.
 

In What is the price for white guilt? (Thursday 6 October) Prof. Anton van Niekerk, chairperson of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Stellenbosch, and Eusebius McKaiser, political analyst and associate professor in philosophy at Wits, will continue the debate of how, if at all, white people must “pay” for years of benefitting from the apartheid era. Should we still think in terms of categories of white and black?
 

With the government’s recent announcement of the green paper on land reform it is clear that differences is nowhere near being resolved. Louw Steytler, president of Free State Agriculture, and Edwin Mohlahlo, National Secretary General of the Landless People’s Movement, will take part in the discussion Land reform – a disaster or an opportunity?on Friday 7 October.
 

On Saturday 8 October in Afrikaans movies – caught up in their own little world? Leon van Nierop, movie critic and writer, and Danie Bester, scriptwriter and movie producer, will look at the present position of Afrikaans movies in the broader context. Afrikaans movies are flourishing, but are they of a standard that can compete internationally?
 

The free Beeld Discourse discussions (including coffee and rusks as a bonus) start every day at 08:30 at the Rapport Boeke-oase, situated on the festival grounds. The duration is 90 minutes.
 

* The Clover Aardklop National Arts Festival in Potchefstroom runs from 4 to 9 October. Tickets are available at Computicket.