Building Bridges, One Generation at a Time

The Centre for the Constitutional Transformation of South Africa (CCTSA) is delighted to announce that it was named winner of the Heritage, Memory and Identity category at this year’s Western Cape Cultural Affairs Awards, held in Cape Town on 9 September 2026.  The CCTSA is dedicated to telling the story of South Africa’s constitutional journey.  The awards, hosted annually by the Western Cape Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport, recognise individuals and organisations that make a meaningful contribution to the cultural, linguistic and heritage life of the province.

To be recognised among such highly regarded organisations, people and institutions that care so deeply about our heritage, our culture and our communities, and to receive this award, is a privilege and an honour.

At the 20^th anniversary of the FW de Klerk Foundation, former President FW de Klerk spoke of his vision of creating “a documentation and education centre for the remembrance of our constitutional transformation process” – an institution that would grow into a fitting commemoration of what he described as “the greatest success that all the people of South Africa have ever achieved”.

That vision has come to fruition in the Centre for the Constitutional Transformation of South Africa (CCTSA).

South Africa’s constitutional journey is one of the most remarkable stories of our time; a story of enormous courage, difficult choices, and above all, people who found the courage to build bridges where there had been deep division. It is the story the CCTSA was created to tell and the story that lies at the heart of everything the FW de Klerk Foundation does.

Through its interactive constitutional heritage exhibition, the CCTSA brings that journey to life for school children, young people, scholars, researchers, diplomats and visitors, locally and abroad. The CCTSA is less of an archive in the traditional sense, and more a living, modern-day space; one that grows, welcomes new voices, and speaks as much to where we are going as to where we have come from.

As South Africa marks the 30^th anniversary of the 1996 Constitution, the importance of preserving and sharing this story has never been greater.  The CCTSA reminds us of what can be achieved when people even in the most difficult circumstances, choose dialogue over division and find a way forward together.

This award serves as renewed inspiration and responsibility for the Centre for the Constitutional Transformation of South Africa, a reminder that there will always be another generation to educate, another bridge to build, another young person to inspire.

The CCTSA thanks the Western Cape Government and the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport for recognising, through this award, the importance of this work, congratulates its fellow nominees, and remains deeply grateful to everyone who continues to support the CCTSA in sharing this remarkable South African story.