The Durban University of Technology (DUT) in collaboration with Gcinamasiko Arts and Heritage Trust is gearing up to commemorate the International Mother Language Day themed: “My Health is My Mother Tongue” at the university’s City campus in Durban on Friday, 21 February 2025 from 09h00 to 16h00. Continued celebrations featuring learners from various schools, professional storytellers, poets, keynote speakers and medical practitioners will take place at the Bluff Showgrounds under the Storytelling Tree on Saturday, 22 February 2025 from 10h00 to 15h00.
To highlight the importance of preserving and promoting mother languages, DUT and Gcinamasiko Arts and Heritage Trust have developed an exciting two-day programme filled with music, poetry, exhibitions, engaging panel discussions and film screenings that speak to the richness of cultural diversity. Gcinamasiko Arts and Heritage Trust is an organisation founded by Dr Gcina Mhlophe, who was conferred with an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy in Visual and Performing Arts at DUT’s Autumn Graduation ceremony in 2024.
Interim Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Design, Professor Jean Baxen.
Delivering the keynote address on behalf of DUT will be the Interim Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Design, Professor Jean Baxen. Dr Mhlophe will be speaking on behalf of Gcinamasiko Arts and Heritage Trust. Since 2017, Durban was recognised by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as the only City of Literature on the African continent, which emphasises the importance of literature in the community and the role of educational institutions in promoting it.
“Our role is to honour South Africa’s 12 recognised official languages, reflecting the country’s diverse linguistic and cultural groups. Through appealing, strategic collaborative programmes such as these, we are determined to alleviate young people’s frustrations, provide spaces for the youth to engage and feel a sense of belonging and purpose, and promote community engagement. Our nation needs all the intergenerational dialogues possible to remind ourselves of the power embedded in the rich heritage of our languages. Both university students and arts practitioners will highlight the immeasurable value of our sense of identity as sons and daughters of Africa. Until we see a brighter future in our children’s eyes, not much of what we do today has any value,” shared Dr Mhlophe.
Speaking on the collaboration, DUT’s Professor Baxen said: “This is a conscious measure to force a collaborative nature amongst students across programmes. We hope to see outcomes where a Fashion Design student could easily partner with a Journalism, Video, or Graphic Design student.”
Siphumelele Zondi, a DUT Journalism lecturer and seasoned journalist who is part of the organising team, explained that the International Mother Language Day event was designed not only to recognise and honour first languages but to also encourage students and academics to maintain professionalism in those languages.
“Mother tongue is a language that you learn first before you learn any other languages. So, it’s believed that you should be more proficient in that language than any other. This is to also recognise and honour different languages that exist internationally. As we do know that some indigenous languages in different parts of the world are at the risk of dying out, some languages have already died, it become imperative that we protect ours too. So, International Mother Tongue brings awareness to that,” Zondi said.
Zondi also emphasised the importance of promoting mother tongue languages in academic and arts spaces, encouraging students to produce work in their native languages.
“The Faculty of Arts and Design already has its alumni producing works of art in their mother tongue. One such example is Dawud Phungula, a DUT Journalism graduate who launched the popular Dawud TV, a maskandi-focused Zulu medium channel. Phungula, who studied at DUT, now anchors isiZulu news for SABC, further demonstrating the potential of mother tongue languages in media and the arts,” added Zondi.
Pictured: DUT Honorary Doctorate recipient, Dr Gcina Mhlophe who will deliver a keynote address at the International Mother Language Day event.
Nkosingiphile Dladla/Simangele Zuma
