The All from One exhibition, in collaboration with Iziko Museums of South Africa, is located outside at the Iziko South African Museum, Queen Victoria Street, Cape Town until Sunday, 17 July 2016.

Entrance is free and a short guided tour is available to any interested members of the public.

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.

“The exhibition amplifies PAST’s Walking Tall Schools project, which has provided palaeosciences workshops to over 1.2 million learners and educators. Walking Tall is PAST’s signature educational initiative and an important part of the Department of Science and Technology’s 2011 South African Strategy for the Palaeosciences, which seeks to instil pride in our African heritage, develop South African leadership in the palaeosciences, and provides proof of the mutual roots that bind us all in a common humanity,” says PAST CEO, Andrea Leenen

The Walking Tall Project also provides curriculum-based resource materials for learners and educators, educator workshops, and a monitoring and evaluation system. Learner and educator workshops are designed to improve understanding in evolution and genetics, and, more fundamentally, to help teachers expose learners to science in a manner that makes it relevant to their lives. The workshops provide information on Africa’s iconic fossil discoveries. They use the shared origins of humankind and the shared origins of all life forms to promote tolerance, unity, collaboration and nature conservation.

On Thursday, 19 May at 13:00, Walking Tall will perform at UCT; on Friday, 20 May there will be two performances at 09:30 and 10:45 at the Iziko Museum; and on Saturday, 21 May is a 13:00 performance at the Iziko Museum in the Rock Art Gallery.

“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 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 Prof. 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,” says Leenen.

The All from One campaign seeks to commit people from across the world to four human ideals validated by the science of our origins: tolerance, unity, collaboration and conservation.

“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,” says Leenen. Likewise, “an appreciation for the shared origins of all living things is essential to conserving our natural environments and Earth's biodiversity”, adds Prof Blumenschine.

The effectiveness of the Walking Tall workshops is assessed through learner and educator responses to questionnaires. The questionnaires generate quantitative and narrative data that allow PAST to measure in detail both enhanced understanding of scientific concepts and changes in attitude to science, being African, racial differences and nature conservation.

The programme is being rolled out to companies and government, too, as it is imperative that the corporate world and policy-makers are part of the solution and get active to bring about change.  

“The time for action is now as we all need to be able to walk on this wonderful planet with pride, knowing we have done everything in our power to protect her future,” says Leenen

For more information, visit www.past.org.za. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook or on Twitter.