Prof Gilbert Motsaathebe

Prof Gilbert Motsaathebe, PhD is a Full Professor at the North-West University where he is attached to the Indigenous Language Media in Africa (ILMA) research entity. He obtained his PhD from the University of the Witwatersrand. He was until recently the Editor-in-Chief of Communicare—Journal for Communication Studies in Africa. Motsaathebe has a long history in academia and media practice having previously taught at the University of Johannesburg, the United Arab Emirates University in the UAE, the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in South Africa and several institutions in Nagasaki, Japan, before working in the Chief Directorate of Communication, North West Office of the Premier. In the intervening years, he was a SEPHIS Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society (CSCS) in Bangalore, India. He started his career at Bop Television in Mmabatho where he was a News Producer for the station’s primetime news before being recruited by e-TV when it started. After a stint at eTV, he left for the United Kingdom on a 2-year working holiday visa and upon his return, he joined Cape Peninsula University of Technology where he started his academic career. He is an NRF-rated researcher with over 50 peer-reviewed scholarly articles and chapters in top-notch journals and compendiums. In addition, he has published 10 books with reputable publishers such as Palgrave Macmillan, Rowman & Littlefield /Lexington Books, UNISA Press, and Routledge. As part of his academic citizenship, he has delivered numerous papers at national and international conferences and over ten keynote addresses in countries such as the USA, Kenya and India. His research interest oscillates on Indigenous Language Media, the plight of indigenous communities, African languages, African rhetoric, multiculturalism accommodation, media, gender and representation, journalism education and practice and post-apartheid films. He is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the IVLP award, which was tenable in the USA in 2016. He has also been awarded several research grants including the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) for cross-country projects in which he was a Principal Investigator. As part of his industry involvement, he serves on the Panel of Judges for South Africa’s premier annual competition of journalists, the Vodacom Journalist of the Year (VJOY) and on editorial and advisory boards of several professional organisations and learned societies. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the South African Language Practitioners’ Council (SALPC). He regularly contributes to public debates through his writing which has been published in the Sunday Standard (Botswana), Sunday World, Cape Times, Mafikeng Mail, Daily Mavericks, Taung Daily News, The New Age (South Africa), Jambo Online (Pan African Publication), Nagasaki Beat, and Ariake-Cho Shimbun (Japan).