MIDP V was the fifth project (each project covered a three-year period) to be funded by the Province of Antwerp, Belgium.

The project was primarily implemented in Philippolis, a rural town in the Southern Free State. Philippolis comprises part of the Xhariep district and can lay claim to the distinction of being the first urbanised settlement in the Free State (1823).

It also served as the capital city of the Griquas (1823-1861); and even today, one can still observe the Griqua influence in Philippolis.

Philippolis is situated 180 kilometres south of Bloemfontein and served as the halfway house between North and South. The town has approximately 5 000 inhabitants. Whites – comprising mainly of farmers – account for about 10% of the town’s population. Two residential areas are located to the south and north of the town, namely Poding tse Rolo and Bergmanshoogte, and are home to approximately 4 500 black and coloured persons.

The aim of MIDP was to institutionalise the already-functioning multilingualism that exists in Philippolis and the Khula-Xhariep Project area at grassroots level. This was achieved by means of increased access to infrastructure (such as the library), the training of ad hoc language practitioners, workshops on the use of interpreters and language practitioners, multilingualism, etc., as well as the development of appropriate terminology.

The project aimed to achieve the following outputs:

• The establishment of electronic resources for ad hoc language practitioners (computers with relevant software).
• Identification of the needs of ad hoc language practitioners and clients.
• The training of ad hoc language practitioners by means of eight workshops that were presented over a period of three years (the training was modelled according to the needs of the community).
• The training of those who make use of language practitioners, by means of a workshop.
• The publication of terminology lists for various fields, in Afrikaans, Sotho and English.

With the completion of the MIDP project in 2013, the ULFE decided to continue its collaboration with the community. Various community projects have been launched, including the Multilingual Philippolis Public Speaking Competition and the development of the Adam Kok Language Route, the Philippolis – A Pleasant Surprise booklet and Terminology for Community Interpreters booklet.