Extension: email submissions to kongresETFB@ufs.ac.za by 15 July

About the LDESW

The third biennial Language Diversity in Educational Settings Workshop (LDESW) will be hosted virtually from 3 to 4 October 2022 via Microsoft Teams. The theme of this Workshop is “Deaf Educational Attainment – Empowerment and Social Mobility" (2022 LDESW Call for abstracts) (Call in SASL - dates as in text version). It is organised by the Department of South African Sign Language and Deaf Studies (University of the Free State). Abstracts are submitted online by 1 June at https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=ldesw2022. Registrations close on 31 August and proof of payment is due by 16 September.

The vision of the LDESW series is to promote research and the sharing of both local and international expertise and collaboration on all aspects of language diversity in educational settings, with specific attention to sign language.

History of the LDESW

The LDESW series stems from a joint project between the University of Namur (Belgium) and the University of the Free State (South Africa) between 2017 and 2018. The project aimed to advance the study of the practical management of language policy and planning processes in education through two pilot projects. The first was a project on promoting Belgian francophone sign language in a bilingual school in Namur and the second was a project on the promotion of language diversity at the University of the Free State. In 2018, the first LDESW was held in Clarens, Free State, where researchers received constructive feedback from the actors involved in the language programs in Namur and Bloemfontein. Since the second Workshop in 2020, the focus has shifted specifically to sign language in educational settings.

Organising committee
Department of South African Sign Language and Deaf Studies, University of the Free State
Coordinator: Dr Chrismi Loth
Contact: kongresETFB@ufs.ac.za

Host: Prof Annalene van Staden (Head of Department)
Prof Theodorus du Plessis
Jani de Lange
Susan Lombaard

Scientific committee

• Prof Annalene van Staden (University of the Free State, RSA)
• Prof Anne Baker (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Stellenbosch University, RSA)
• Prof Myriam Vermeerbergen (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium)
• Prof Theodorus du Plessis (University of the Free State, RSA)
• Dr Lukas Magongwa (Wits University, RSA)
• Dr Marga Stander (Sol Plaatjies University and University of the Free State, RSA)
• Other: To be confirmed (local and international experts)