As part of its celebration of International Mother Language Day, the Academy for Multilingualism (AFM) at the University of the Free State (UFS) hosted an awards ceremony to recognise and celebrate participants in the Sesotho and Afrikaans Short Story Competition.
The event took place on 20 February 2026 at the UFS Centenary Complex. In attendance were, among others, Prof Nomalungelo Ngubane, Director of the AFM; Prof Anthea Rhoda; Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic at the UFS; and Julius Dantile: Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB), who served as guest speaker for the ceremony.
Recognising ambassadors of language
According to Dr Tholani Hlongwa, Deputy Director of the AFM, twenty-two Sesotho and eight Afrikaans entries were received for the competition. The ceremony recognised participants as well as the top three from both languages.
Zonnike Coetzer, Academic Writing Specialist within the Writing Centre at the UFS, won in the Afrikaans category, while Moroesi Nakeli, a UFS alum, won in the Sesotho category of the competition. Nakeli and Coetzer described their success as important recognition in their writing journey. “It means the world to me that all those people thought my story was worth reading throughout, worth acknowledging, and that my characters meant something,” said Coetzer.
Dr Hlongwa further explained that the short story competition is one of the projects spearheaded by the AFM to promote mother languages at the UFS. Therefore, the award ceremony was an important way of celebrating these custodians of language. In addition, Dr Hlongwa indicated that the AFM had managed to secure publishers for both the Sesotho and Afrikaans entries. Therefore, those in the top three – along with several selected entrants – will get to see their work published.
Insights from speakers
Prof Rhoda was one of several speakers at the ceremony to address the attendees. In her address, she underscored the importance of celebrating this day: “International Mother Language Day reminds us that multilingualism is not an inconvenience, but an asset.” In addition, she explained that it is important to continue moving beyond symbolic recognition towards practical transformation, which includes “creating spaces where linguistic diversity is visible, audible, and valued”. As such, she expressed that the AFM is doing impressive work in that respect.
In his address, Dantile referred to some of the strides being made in the promotion of mother languages in South Africa. One example being the roll-out of mother tongue-based bilingual education by the Department of Basic Education (DBE). He explained that these are strides that should be celebrated, as they ensure that language is not a barrier but an academic asset. He also encouraged the young people in the room to embrace the intelligence embedded in who they are and in their languages.