Lifetime Achievement Awardee of the 11th annual Golden Shield Heritage Awards – Mama Esau Katrina – the only surviving NIuu Language fluent speaker. 

GOSHA Awards information:

Click here to Download GOSHA Nomination Form & Categories.

The year 2025 marks the 12th year of the Golden Shield Heritage Awards (GOSHA) in the 31 years of our country’s democracy under the 7th administration. This is an initiative of the National Heritage Council of South Africa that aims to recognise excellence in the heritage sector and honour ordinary South
Africans, at grass-roots community level, who have been actively involved in conservation management of our heritage.  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.

The GOSHA were hosted in various provinces in partnership with the provincial departments of sport, arts and culture as well as other stakeholders. To date, the GOSHA have been hosted in the Free State, Northern Cape, Gauteng, Limpopo, Western Cape. This year’s awards hosting province will soon be announced… This remarkable milestone opens a new chapter for the awards and their future by welcoming partnerships that will grow the initiative to a continental level.

In this manner, the NHC shows gratitude and takes pride in people who continuously contribute selflessly to the preservation, interpretation and promotion of South Africa’s rich cultural heritage.

The awards were motivated by the rationale that heritage plays a significant role in promoting social cohesion and community development. Awards such as these, therefore, give acknowledgement and expose the depth of the South African Heritage which is unique and diverse.

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 our cultural heritage for the benefit of current and future generations.

Do you think your work qualifies you as a Heritage Champion or know of anyone whose work needs to be recognised? Simply download the Entry form: Golden Shield Heritage Awards 2025- ENTRY-FORM.

Finalists for the 11th Annual Golden Shield Heritage Awards:

Click here to download the 2024 Finalists list:

2024 11th Golden Shield Heritage Awards finalist_Final

To view the 11th annual Golden Shield Heritage Awards at the Artscape Theatre, click here:https://www.youtube.com/live/bdXzWYRa1ZM?si=AtXTCTyWapGTE

To download the 2024 Golden Shield Heritage Awards pictures Click here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iQzyxcQDzoGVV06cKuPmz2BFZARf7vbw?usp=drive_link