The Department of Community Safety was honoured to exhibit at the celebration of the International Mother Language Day (IMLD), held on Friday, 22 February 2019, at the Khayelitsha Community Centre, in Khayelitsha, Cape Town.
The IMLD was hosted by the Department of Arts and Culture in partnership with the Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport and the National Library of South Africa, through its subsidiary, Centre of the Book.
Now in its 19th year, the globally recognised commemorative event was proclaimed by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in a bid to maintain multilingualism and, in so doing, preserving cultural diversity in response to the increasing threat to linguistic diversity.
This year’s theme: “Indigenous languages matter for development, peace building and reconciliation”, speaks to the globally shared goal: the preservation of diverse languages and encouraging multi-lingual based learning.
One of the delegates in attendance was Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture, Honourable Maggie Sotyu who revelled in the multilingual presentations delivered by the numerous stakeholders who, in part, consisted of pupils from schools across the Western Cape.
These addresses were often delivered in each of the presenting school’s taught languages, to further highlight the importance of preserving linguistic diversity and promoting mother tongue-based multilingual education.
Ishaam Davids
Head of Communications
Department of Community Safety
Tel: 021 483 6689
Email: Ishaam.Davids@westerncape.gov.za