REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA COMBINED SECOND PERIODIC REPORT UNDER THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN AND PEOPLE`S RIGHTS and INITIAL REPORT UNDER THE PROTOCOL TO THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN AFRICA level of a very stratified community. Hybrid mixtures of these different cultures also exist, making South Africa one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. 199 200 343. As a result, government is continuously seeking to overcome the legacy of past discriminatory practices and strives to develop one nation, united in our diversity. The country has thus undertaken not only to promote diversity and tolerance but it has also taken positive measures to promote the rights of minority groups. The Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) is specifically tasked to create an environment conducive to the growth and development of South Africa’s arts and culture. Among its key objectives are the improvement, re-orientation and expansion of the arts and culture sector to serve South Africa’s cultural needs. The DAC’s vision is to develop and preserve South African culture so as to ensure social cohesion and nation-building. For example, as part of our efforts to promote inclusive citizenships, the DAC hosted no less than eighty community conversations held throughout South Africa to determine from communities the kind of society they seek to build. These conversations culminated in our country’s first National Summit on Social Cohesion, held in Kliptown in July 2012. The summit brought together South Africans; black and white, women and men, rich and poor, young and old, urban and rural, with a diversity of beliefs, seeking to unite them under a common declaration and through a practical programme of action. 344. As part of implementing the Mzansi Golden Economy strategy the DAC continued to support major cultural events in all the provinces. Some of the events supported include: the National Arts Festival, the South African Music Awards, the Mbokodo Awards, Joy of Jazz, Mapungubwe Arts Festival, the Buyel’ekhaya Pan-African Music Festival, the Cape Town International Jazz Festival and the Mangaung African Festival (Macufe), to mention a few. 345. An estimated total of 25 000 job opportunities were created in the past couple of years as a result of some twenty-eight cultural events supported by the DAC across the country. Future plans are to upgrade some of these events with a view to enhancing their contribution to the goals of nation building, social cohesion and economic development.199 The Department of Arts and Culture has demonstrated its unwavering commitment to bring arts, culture and heritage activities into the mainstream to provide economic and transformational tools for the vast majority of South Africans. This sector now forms an essential part of South Africa’s New Growth Path. There is greater appreciation of the contribution of the arts to the GDP of the nation. 346. The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities is a state institution supporting constitutional democracy in South Africa. It draws its mandate from the Constitution and the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities Act of 2002.200 DAC, Annual Report 2012-2013 Act No. 19 of 2002 99