Golden Shield Heritage Awards (South Africa)

The GOSHA are the only premium gesture of rewarding the heritage activists, practitioners and citizen for their relentless dedication to protect, promote and preserve the heritage of the people of South Africa.

If you are one of the many passionate people and dedicated organisations that are doing exceptional work in heritage and culture, the National Heritage Council encourages you to participate. The awards are inclusive and welcomes all communities, professional organisations, groups, civil society, entities and individuals who are playing a role in the promotion and preservation of their cultural heritage for the benefit of current and future generations.

Categories

• Preferred Heritage Destination
  • Nominees in this category can for example be, a heritage site, museum, leisure facility, interpretation centre, etc. that offers visitors an exceptional experience of cultural heritage and history of South Africa. It will be an added advantage for the ‘Preferred Heritage Destination’ to be an example that demonstrates an ever-evolving, popular and effective tourism product that engages with people of all ages.
• Young Heritage Activist
  • Young persons of not older than 35 years can be nominated in this category. The person must have a proven track record of passionately contributing to heritage awareness of a greater community or even nationally. The work of the nominee for which he/she is nominated must make the nation proud of the rich cultural heritage of this country and its people. The person must be an active community activist who is recognised in the area where he/she operates.
• Voice of Heritage
  • This category recognises any person or institution who publishes books, articles, magazines, websites or produces videos, documentaries, songs, digital games etc. to document heritage and make it accessible to the public. The final product may be for sale or free to the public. Evidence of an established record of making the material available to the public must be available as proof, for example, a copy of the product.
• Heritage Journalism
  • This category recognises journalists and media houses in print, broadcast, online or digital media that reports about heritage and culture in South Africa. The Journalists/Reporters eligible for the award may be working for the media company or be a freelancer. The reports must have been published in print or broadcasted on other platforms of formally recognised media houses. The content of the published stories may should be specific on current heritage and culture matters that affect and/or benefit society. Stories may be about community event and their significance, issues that were raised by communities, violations of cultural heritage, justice in cultural or natural heritage and promoting heritage. Copies of articles, link to digital media stories or clips on news stories should be used as evidence.
• Corporate Heritage Management
  • Any private business that has incorporated heritage into part of their business is eligible to be nominated for this category. This may for example include the way the company preserves its history or history of products, the company’s commitment to fund heritage projects of communities, made other resources available to heritage development, protection and promotion, etc. The size of the business does not matter nor does the scale of the project.
• Liberation Heritage Steward
  • The liberation struggle history of South Africa is a critical part of how the people’s freedom was taken away and the democracy was gained. It now helps them a country to reconstruct this history as their heritage of a rainbow nation. Many citizens, organisations and companies have voluntarily taken the responsibility to protect the South African flag from being auctioned, the original Freedom Charter from being shipped out of the country and may other credible initiatives. Persons and organisations that have done such exceptional work to preserve their liberation heritage even in the unknown corners of their communities will be acknowledged in this category.
• Heritage Education
  • This award will recognise persons in all professions as well as organisations and/or academic institutions. The work may include research on any subject of heritage that educates other people about South African heritage and culture. It may be formal workshops, tours, educational programmes, special lessons or similar programmes that aim at making the public more aware and proud about the heritage, culture and history of South Africa. All academic research should demonstrate outstanding scholarship and excellence. The work must be unique and done in South Africa. All public and private tertiary institutions that offer academically accredited qualifications and are based in South Africa will be considered in this category.
• Heritage Social Media Influencer
  • This category recognizes any individual who selflessly promotes and influences his/her social media followers about SA culture and heritage through any of the following platforms: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Instagram or YouTube. The Influencer should be imparting positive, constructive, affirming and/or entertaining knowledge about their heritage, culture and traditions to a wide range of followers through video, pictures, music, dance, and written content. Social media handles of the Influencer together with at least 10 posts shared with their followers should be submitted as an evidence.
• National Living Treasure
  • The nominees must have promoted and advocated the significance or revival of Intangible Cultural Heritage over a period of years. The award recognizes an elder who is highly involved in transferring traditional art forms such as rug weaving, basketry, storytelling, pottery and design, as well as other forms that are considered intangible, to the young generation. The nominees are expected to be persons who promote community events, volunteer work on a regular basis, take on a leadership role and encourage others to get involved. People who qualify for this award shall always be 65 years old and over in recognition of the wealth of knowledge they possess, not necessarily gathered through academic and scholarly work. Honorary categories
• The NHC will honour distinguished citizens in the following categories that are not for public nomination:
  • Lifetime achievement award
  • Ubuntu Honour

Prize Information

• First prize: R30 000.00
• Second prize: R10 000.00
• All finalists to tour Robben Island World Heritage Site.
• Travel and accommodation for all the finalists will be provided.
• Winners and runners-up will receive a golden shields and trophies.
• All finalists will be admitted as Heritage Ambassadors.

Eligibility Criteria

• Nominees must meet the following criteria to be considered:
  • Individuals, groups or organisations that have made worthwhile contributions to the preservation and promotion of the county’s cultural and natural heritage;
  • Nominees (Individuals/organisation/institutions which may include municipalities, management authorities, conservancies, academia, to name but a few) must still be active, or have left an indelible mark within the heritage sector, through promoting and protecting heritage, etc.
  • Contribution can be through active physical promotion, preservation and protection of cultural heritage or it could be through financial support;
  • Nominees may, or may not be South African citizens however their contribution should be that of promoting, protecting and preserving the South African Heritage.

For more information, visit National Heritage Council.