During the apartheid era South African youth played an influential role in the liberation of the country. But the sense of purpose shown by that generation seems to have faded into apathy in their modern counterparts. Centre stage in today’s government youth development efforts are the National Youth Commission (NYC) and Umsobomvu Youth Fund (UYF). […]

Johnny Masilela is the author of Deliver Us From Evil: Scenes From A Rural Transvaal Upbringing and We Shall Not Weep. He has also written various short stories. Is the language you chose to write in an important issue? Language is important in writing, although I never had the opportunity to write in my indigenous […]

Phaswane Mpe is the author of Welcome To Our Hillbrow. He is a former African literature lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand and is currently a doctoral fellow at the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research. Is the language you chose to write in an important issue? Language is an extremely important issue […]

Thuli Nhlapo is a journalist, poet and author of Sibongo Sabo and Imbali YemaNgcamane, which made it as a finalist in the 1997 M-Net Book Prize. Is the language you chose to write in an important issue? I believe language is important and a nation is distinguished by its languages, which helps shape its identity. […]

It is a rare occasion that learners who have never before been published are given the opportunity to see their words in print. Imibono Yethu (meaning ‘Our opinions”) not only achieves this but also takes the process one unique step further. The compilation consists of stories written in the learners’ home languages, Zulu and Xhosa. […]

Learners from across South Africa, who had won a regional leg of the contest, brought their science and technology projects to Pretoria for judging. Other invited participants came from Zambia, Swaziland, Ghana, Reunion, Namibia and Hong Kong. Hundreds of aspirant scientists participated in different categories including environmental sciences and ecology, agricultural sciences, design, technology, innovation […]

For educators thirsty to experience life in different countries, there are overseas teaching-exchange opportunities. One such programme is the Visiting International Faculty (VIF), which has 168 South African educators currently teaching in the United States (US) this academic year. VIF was started in 1987 and has a total of 1 800 teachers from across the […]

If you have the creativity and the drive to make anything in the marketplace appear to dazzle (even if it’s dull), then you may be one of the talents the world of advertising is looking for. South Africa’s fast-growing advertising industry is as good as any in the world so it is important we have […]

South Sotho is being given a leg-up into political spheres thanks to a newly developed wordlist, compiled by the University of the Free State (UFS), in conjunction with the provincial legislature. Terms like baemedi ba dipolotiki (meaning ‘political representatives’) are among those featured in a bid to boost the status of the official language by […]