“If you talk to a man in a language that he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” Nelson R. Mandela.

Today we mark 27th April, the 12th Anniversary of South African Freedom Day. We observe this day because of its watershed importance in the history of our country, denoting, as it does, the decisive turning away from our divided, brutalized apartheid past towards our future of freedom and democracy.

The theme for this year’s celebrations is: “An Age of Hope – Through Struggle to Freedom”, that recalls the words of our President during his “State of the Nation” address at the opening of parliament, but also links this age to the liberation struggle that made it possible.

South Africa’s first democratic government inherited state coffers that were virtually empty, a huge national debt, and an economy that was registering negative growth. Owing to sensible macro-economic, management the economy has steadily recovered and is on a growth path that has inspired confidence not only amongst South Africans, but also on the continent and among the international community.

South Africa’s Age of Hope is inextricably linked to the attainment of freedom and democracy, which we collectively enshrined in a democratic Constitution. Amongst many other human rights in that highly respected document are the rights of the various South African language communities. The Constitution recognizes eleven official languages, including nine indigenous African languages, English and the patois of Dutch derivation that evolved into Afrikaans.

The Constitution places on us an obligation to redress historic disadvantage and marginalization. The promotion of the indigenous African languages is vital to the good health of South African democracy. It is only by raising the profile and by promoting the use of the indigenous languages that we will bring them into the mainstream of South African life, contribute towards cultural transformation, promote cultural equity and, perhaps most importantly, restore the dignity of the language communities.

The Department of Arts and Culture has embarked on a number of initiatives with the aim of preserving and promoting our indigenous languages over the past two years. They include:

• The installation of Professor Mazisi Kunene as South Africa’s National Poet Laureate in recognition of his dedication to foregrounding and promoting African languages and literature.

• The launching of the National Literature Exhibition to inaugurate a sustained campaign to promote the use of and writing in the indigenous languages.

• The launch of the Xihlovo Xa Vutivi Project on Friday 8th July 2005 at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival.

• The launch of the Literary Heroes Campaign to recognize and celebrate writers who have made a significant contribution to the development of South African literature in all our official languages.

On Saturday 29th April 2006 we are announcing an important public –private partnership that involves cooperation between the Department of Arts and Culture and Blac, the small publishing house owned by the renowned poet and writer, James Matthews. The announcement will coincide with the launch of the first two titles in Xhosa, published by Blac. The first, titled “Kubantwana Babantwana Bam”, is a collection of short stories by the writer Sindiwe Magona. Blac already has plans in the pipeline to publish a further three books in Xhosa during the course of 2006.

It is the view of the Minister and the Department of Arts and Culture that this is an extremely significant development. That a relatively small publishing house has taken up the challenge of publishing and promoting the Xhosa language in a region of our country where it is perhaps the second largest language community is indicative of the new spirit of initiative that animates this Age of Hope. Interventions of this kind, by both the government and the private sector, can make a meaningful contribution to the process of nation-building and social cohesion.

We are replacing the official bilingualism – but mono-lingualism in practice – of pre-democratic South Africa, with a vibrant, living multilingualism. We congratulate James Matthews and his co-workers in Blac for transforming that aspiration into a reality.

For further details contact Sandile Memela, Media Spokesperson for the Ministry of Arts and Culture. 082-800-3750.