The ‘cradle of humankind’ celebrates Africa as the birthplace of humankind and continues in its goal of improving the public’s awareness of its shared origins and the shared origins of all life forms.
A lack of tolerance for others is one of the major ills besetting society today and the campaign heralds the remarkable fact that there is a 99.9% similarity between the chemical sequences making up the genes of any two people. “When we use science as our guide, it is clear the racial distinctions that began to appear only as recently as 50,000 years ago, as our ancestors populated the world from the African homeland are superficial and have no bearing on our capabilities or character,” says PAST CEO, Andrea Leenen.
Science shows that 99.9% of the 3.2 billion nucleotides in your genome occur in the same sequence, as in as any other member of the human species. “The scientific fact is humans are 99.9% alike, with just a few genes making for the differences in skin colour,” says Robert Blumenschine, chief scientist at PAST.
“Our future is rooted in our common humanity and it is this common humanity that can act as a powerful tool for securing a vibrant, peaceful society. It is right here in Africa where this journey of understanding and action truly begins,” adds Leenen.
“If we are through and through an African species, people everywhere need to understand they all emerged from a common ancestor. To continue looking to skin colour and our other minor differences, whether they are physical or cultural, to pursue different future paths will not move us forward,” concludes Leenen.
The All from One campaign seeks to commit people from across the world to four human ideals validated by the science of origins: tolerance, unity, collaboration and conservation. People will be able to commit to these four campaign ideals at the exhibition or online at www.past.org.za.
