ILMA Hosts 3rd Biennial IAMLMR International Conference
…Launches International Journal of Indigenous Language Media and Discourse (IJILMD)
As part of its effort to strengthen international research exchange and academic collaboration, the Indigenous Language Media in Africa (ILMA) Research Entity in the Faculty of Humanities, North-West University, South Africa, recently brought together media scholars and professionals from across the world under the auspices umbrella of the International Association of Minority Language Media Research (IAMLMR) to chart a way forward for indigenous language media and to chat a new course for further research in that area. The IAMLMR biennial conference, which was the 3rd of its kind, was held on the Mahikeng Campus of the University. The two-day international conference, themed: “Minority Language Media in Uncertain Times” was declared open by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research and Innovation) at the North-West University, Prof. Jeffrey Mphahlele.
In her keynote address titled “Where is media in minority languages going?” and “Some considerations from Western European Case Studies, Dr. Miren Manias from the University of the Basque Country said the downward trend in the minority language media is a global problem as they experience same in Basque, where she comes from.
Dr. Manias further noted three different factors are responsible for the challenge facing indigenous languages. She argued that minority languages lack proper protection thus leading media production shrinking, thereby losing the attention they deserve from the audience while the policy makers sit on the fence to see indigenous languages going into extinction. She, therefore, called for minority language media protection through policies that restrict the hegemonic languages within the communities of minority languages, with a recommendation that adequate funding support be extended to minority language media.
The second keynote speaker, Professor Simphiwe Sesanti of the Faculty of Education, University of the Western Cape and former Editor of the International Journal of African Renaissance Studies (IJARS), emphasised the role of the media towards the restoration of indigenous languages for the reclamation of cultural memory damaged by colonial languages. He extensively delved into the comparative analysis of African languages. He also highlighted the wrong use of minority language words in the media, which he noted posed a threat to African indigenous languages. He concluded that the shared African languages united the African people, noting that the differences in these languages were merely minor variations.
The IAMLMR representative at the conference, Mr. Craig Wills, went down memory lane regarding the historical antecedents of IAMLMR. He noted that the conference was a smaller version of the International Conference for Minority Languages, which has existed for about twenty years, with a particular focus on minority language media.
The conference culminated in the launch of the International Journal of Indigenous Language Media and Discourse (IJILMD) and a book on Social Media Misinformation and Disinformation: Studies and Perspectives from Africa, which has eighteen chapters spread across four sections of the book. The publication was dedicated to the memory of the late Prof. Itumeleng Mekoa, who initiated the conference, which eventually led to the foundation of the book.
Prof. Gilbert Motsaathebe, the chairman LOC and member of the ILMA Research Entity, publicly presented the IJILMD Journal. Professor Motsaathebe affirmed that the journal aims to provide platforms for critical engagement with issues relating to Indigenous and minority language media, with a focus on an array of issues concerning identity, diversity and multiculturalism. He urged participants at the Conference to encourage the journal by submitting good manuscripts for possible consideration in the journal. Prof. Gilbert further described the IJILMD journal as highly-rated based on the intellectual fecundity of the journal editors.
The Executive Dean of Faculty of Humanities of the North-West University, South Africa, Prof. Dunmi Moyo and the Deputy Dean (Teaching and Learning), Prof. Phil Mpho Chaka, Faculty of Humanities, delivered their goodwill messages. The high point of the conference was a film show to herald the conference.
