GEORGE NEWS - In the spirit of Human Rights Day, George Library is exhibiting a touching sculpture of Hector Pieterson created by the Thembalethu-based artist, Thanduxolo Juta.

The sculpture portrays photojournalist, the late Sam Nzima's photo taken on the tragic day in 1976 when the 12-year-old Pieterson was shot and killed after police opened fire on black students protesting the enforcement of teaching in Afrikaans.

Various other sculptures of the artist are also on exhibition to commemorate Human Rights Day on Thursday 21 March. 

There are sculptures of iconic South Africans such as Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu, as well as the much-loved Springbuck captain Siya Kolisi.

This week is also National Library Week and to celebrate, the library has a special exhibition that the Alice for Adults library group helped put together. 

The theme is 'Libraries foster social cohesion'. 

With this theme, they want to encourage people from different backgrounds to focus on shared values, norms and beliefs.

As part of the exhibition, Dr Rulene Nel, a member of Alice for Adults, writes that these are all things that create the character of a community. 

"A shared character fosters a sense of belonging and mutual trust, and by belonging and trusting each other we can survive and prosper."

Her message is that George Library fosters social cohesion by providing access to information, promoting literacy and education, creating community spaces, and supporting inclusivity and diversity.

Some of the other sculptures by Thanduxolo Juta currently at George Library. 

This is part of an exhibition by the Alice for Adults group around the theme of social cohesion. 

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