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International Mother Language Day with a focus on local schools

04 March 2025 | Story Precious Shamase | Photo Kwanele Madonsela

Deputy Director - Academy for Multilingualism with the school teachers showing off the donated Dictionaries — Dr Tholani Hlongwa (middle), Deputy Director of the UFS Academy for Multilingualism, emphasised that such initiatives promote a deeper appreciation of diverse perspectives while helping to overcome communication barriers among learners.

International Mother Language Day marks its silver jubilee, highlighting 25 years of linguistic diversity advocacy. On Friday 21 February 2025, the world observed the 25th anniversary of International Mother Language Day, a milestone celebrating a quarter of a century of efforts to promote multilingualism and cultural preservation.

International Mother Language Day, observed annually, promotes awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. The UFS Qwaqwa Campus' 2025 event not only celebrated this diversity, but it also provided tangible support to the local education system.

The event placed a spotlight on the importance of mother tongue-based education (MTBE), particularly as the South African government and the Department of Education continue to roll out MTBE in the fourth year of schooling (Grade 4).

The day’s primary objective was to cultivate a welcoming environment where learners could share their languages and cultural identities, a vision that directly aligns with the UFS’ Vision 130. This strategic framework champions inclusivity, which aims to create platforms where diverse communities can interact and learn from one another, solidifying a sense of belonging for all.

A key feature of the commemoration was the distribution of 40 bilingual pictorial dictionaries to two local primary schools in Qwaqwa. Notably, one school caters for hearing learners, while the other provides education for Deaf learners, ensuring inclusivity in the initiative.

"This event was more than just a celebration; it was a powerful demonstration of inclusivity in action," stated Dr Tholani Hlongwa, Deputy Director from the UFS Academy for Multilingualism. "By bringing together Deaf and hearing learners, we are breaking down communication barriers and fostering a deeper understanding of each other's unique perspectives."

"This year's commemoration held particular significance, as we witnessed the continued progression of mother tongue-based education within our national curriculum," said Dr Hlongwa. "These bilingual dictionaries will serve as invaluable tools for both teachers and learners, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of their mother languages."

The distribution of these resources aimed to support teaching and learning directly within the beneficiary schools, reinforcing the university's commitment to community engagement and educational development.

The Academy for Multilingualism at the UFS plays a crucial role in promoting and researching multilingualism, and this event highlighted its dedication to advancing language equity. The University of the Free State continues to demonstrate its dedication to the development of the communities surrounding its campuses.

The event at Thiboloha School for the Deaf and Blind stands as a testament to the UFS’ commitment to building a more inclusive and equitable society. By fostering dialogue and understanding, the university is actively contributing to a future where all individuals feel valued and respected. This initiative has not only enriched the lives of the participating learners, but it also set a precedent for future collaborations that champion multilingualism and inclusivity within the broader community.

News Archive

Enhancement of social justice focus at research colloquium

2010-10-07

At the third Education for Social Justice Research Colloquium the publication Praxis towards sustainable empowering learning environments in South were handed to Prof. Ezekiel Moraka, Vice-Rector: External Relations at the UFS. At this occasion were, from the left: Prof. Dennis Francis, Dean of the UFS Faculty of Education; Prof. Sechaba Mahlomaholo, Research Professor in the Faculty of Education Sciences at the North-West University; Prof. Moraka; and Dr Milton Nkoane, Senior Lecturer in the UFS Faculty of Education.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

This year, the University of the Free State (UFS) was the host for the Research Colloquium: Education for Social Justice for the very first time. It is the third time that this colloquium has been presented.

Prof. Ezekiel Moraka, Vice-Rector: External Relations at the UFS, opened the colloquium, stating that academics, through their research, are ultimately in a good standing to advise government on important issues such as social justice for them to address these issues accordingly.

Prof. Sechaba Mahlomaholo, Research Professor in the Faculty of Education Sciences at the North-West University, delivered the opening address on the theme: Validating community cultural wealth towards sustainable empowering learning environments for social justice. He said that the legacy of our recent past as South Africa still continues to haunt us, especially as exemplified in the dysfunctionalities that are rife in our education.

“With the colloquium we manage to bring together the ideas, thoughts, resources and efforts of educators and/or educationists concerned with the creation of a more equitable, equal, free, hopeful, peaceful and socially just society. Through our teaching, our community engagement and research activities we strive towards a more humane, caring, respecting and respectful South Africa and the world,” he said.

According to Prof. Mahlomaholo, education and its research are some of the most potent mechanisms at the very centre of social transformation. The papers at the colloquium focused on investigating, understanding and responding to issues of amongst others:

The medium of teaching and learning which continues to be a barrier to many learners to perform to the best of their abilities in the majority of the education institutions in South Africa;
Health, sexuality, HIV/Aids, stigmatisation and other deseases plaguing our communities currently;
Self-fulfilling prophecies and stereotypes about some learners not being as intelligent as the rest and this finally being reflected and confirmed in their poor academic achievements;
Differentiated levels of parental involvement in the activities of their children’s learning due to long absences from their families as they have to work in far-off places of employment;

Papers delivered at the colloquium moved beyond merely identifying the problems; they also suggested possible and plausible research-based solutions to these, such as integrating HIV/Aids education in curricula, listening to the aspirations of significant stakeholders such as mothers and parents generally in teaching and facilitating more rigorous community engagement practices.

At the colloquium gala dinner the book Praxis towards sustainable empowering learning environments in South Africa by authors Dr Milton Nkoane, Senior Lecturer in the UFS Faculty of Education, Prof. Mahlomaholo and Prof. Dennis Francis, Dean of the Faculty of Education at the UFS, was launched. The publication consists of a collection of the best peer-reviewed papers from a conference with the theme Creating sustainable empowering learning environments through scholarship of engagement. The main criterion for inclusion was that the paper should contribute to the theme by means of an original, tight, theoretical and empirical study conducted with the aim of informing the practice of creating sustainable empowering learning environments. The concrete cases examined in many of the chapters are very useful to helping readers understand the specific, on-the-ground concerns related to higher education and schools.

Media Release
Issued by: Leonie Bolleurs
Strategic Communication
Tel: 051 401 2707
Sel: 0836455853
Email: bolleursl@ufs.ac.za
30 September 2010

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