The Afrikaanse Taalmuseum en -monument (ATM) and Paarl Museum hosted a special programme on 16 and 17 April to commemorate the International Day of Monuments and Sites, which is celebrated annually on 18 April. The purpose of the day – this year’s theme is ‘Rural Landscapes’ – is to make the public aware of their diverse cultural heritage, with a view to preserving and protecting this heritage. As part of the local Paul Joubert Secondary School’s grade 10 learners’ annual heritage assignment, 140 of them visited the ATM and Paarl Museum. The Paarl boasts diverse historical sites as well as monuments, and it is important that the local community should be aware of this. This day was launched by ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) on 18 April 1982 and was adopted by UNESCO in 1983. See more on ICOMOS at www.icomos.org/en/
