Date: 10 February 2010
Time: 12h30 for 14h00
Venue: Moot Court of the Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria

Section 6 of the South African Constitution sets out that there are 11 official languages in the country. It further provides that ‘all official languages must enjoy parity of esteem and must be treated equitably’

Professor Fernand de Varennes is internationally renowned for his research in the fields of human and language rights, minority rights and ethnic conflicts. He is currently Associate Professor at Murdoch University’s School of Law in Perth, Australia. He has worked with a great number of organizations, including the United Nations’ Working Group on the Rights of Minorities.

Professor Frans Viljoen, Director for Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria, said that the public lecture by Prof Vanneres “comes at a relevant time when there is an increasing debate about the usage of minority languages in the country, especially at institutions of higher learning, and also the debate about lack of mother tongue usage at South African schools”.