Dear Portfolio Committee on Basic Education,
This communication is sent you by the South African National Commission for UNESCO and the South African National Lexicography Units. The Lexicography Units are agencies of Government created by Parliament with a mandate to produce mono and bilingual dictionaries and other material in our indigenous languages which in the words of the Constitution will "elevate their status and advance their use".
2019 is the UNESCO International Year of Indigenous Languages. The Units are working in close co-operation with SA UNESCO to create an awareness of our work, mandate and achievements. We also focus on the Constitutional obligations placed upon us, and all Government Departments, to work together to achieve the State's obligations to our languages by improving the teaching and learning of languages in our schools and communities.
We believe a more multilingual society will lead to greater social cohesion.
On the 24th October 2017 Parliament released an ATC notice calling for the implementation of our dictionaries to "the respective communities and schools as soon as possible".
We are approaching you to request the opportunity for UNESCO and the Units to do a joint presentation to the Basic Education Portfolio Committee on the progress we are making with this campaign and the support we require from your Committee to meet our mutual Constitutional obligations.
We hope you will approve this request or indicate who we should approach to ensure this happens as a key event of our UNESCO IYoL calendar.
Yours Faithfully,
Terence Ball
For and on Behalf of the Secretary General South African National Commission for UNESCO and the South African National Lexicography Units