In 2024, South Africa celebrated 30 years of democracy, and the KwaZulu-Natal Museum exhibited items from the dawn of our democracy in a temporary display.

Although much has been achieved, South Africans are faced with social ills such as unemployment, poor service delivery, and state corruption. Even as access to education has improved, lack of economic growth has stifled employment opportunities. Rampant corruption further undermines economic growth. 

One major question we asked in the exhibition was: “what does democracy mean to you?” Another aspect of the exhibition, was to get people to tell stories of their experiences when they first heard that South Africa was to be free of apartheid and when they first voted. Cards by a ballot box allowed the public to write down these and other experiences and deposit them like votes.

The exhibition was taken down a few days ago as the space is being cleared for a new display. It was uplifting to see so many messages from visitors on the cards, some critical of the state of the country, others more positive. Perhaps, after the next 30 years, there will be even more positive comments because the country has managed to succeed at many more things.