NAIMUN UNESCO Republic of South Africa

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Safeguarding Endangered Languages

Language is defined as a body which can be written, spoken, shown or otherwise communicated between people. The vitality and importance of languages today is apparent to citizens all over the world, irrespective of their race, religion or even socio-economic belonging. They not only enable us to express ourselves but attribute and confirm identity and accentuate social integration and acceptance. However, today languages are at a high risk of diminishing, in fact 96% of the worlds dialects are only spoken by 3% of the worlds people and day by day, dominant metropolitan languages overtake peripheral indigenous ones, which, once lost, are never replaced. We, the delegation of South Africa believe that languages are indispensable tools of communication, which give societies and individuals a sense of cultural belonging. And thus, this disruption in the linguistic equilibrium would lead to a lack of cooperation, bond and communication between people, communities and societies, which is a threat to not only us as a nation, but to the world and humanity. The Republic of South Africas democratic constitution recognizes 11 official languages, to name a few; English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Setswana and Siswati, moreover, a large population of South Africa also speaks languages from around the world, such as Hindi, German, Gujarati and Arabic, this is largely due to population migration in the late eighteen hundreds. At present however, there are over 100 tribal indigenous dialects such as Pidgens and Creole, which are considered regional vernaculars only spoken by small, marginalized groups who have their own cultural identity, one which is bound to be extinct. Several measures have been taken in order to restore lost dialects, with the cooperation of other African nations and the help of UNESCO, the Republic of South Africa launched the Capacity-building for safeguarding languages and oral traditions and expressions in Sub-Saharan Africa initiative in 2004 and was a part of Endangered languages and Multilingualism in Cyberspace program of UNESCO. However, these initiatives, although very thorough and accurate, have taken time to be implemented, due to a lack of finances, material, information and accessibility. Though cyber programs are high-tech and informative, they fail to reach out to indigenous groups and communities in the region. Thus, The Republic of South Africa has now resolved to using means of education to raise awareness of deteriorating African Languages. By involving universities and colleges (via the African Universities Association) to adapt research and teaching curricula and actively engage in documentation which would inertly encourage students to choose African languages both as a subject of investigation and for writing academic papers. Bearing in mind restrictions concerning funds, global co-operation and government intervention, The Republic of South Africa believe that there are yet several policies nations can resort to, to enable safeguarding of languages; such as, providing education systems where mother tongue is held as a compulsory language for students, also to teach them to preserve and share for future generations. This would help target the youth and thus be looked upon as sustainable development for the nation. Moreover, use media as a medium to reach out to the population, for example setting up articles in the daily newspaper in indigenous languages in simplified form. Of course, these are measures which require more thought and

Anmol Mohapatra & Shireen Tyagi

January 2011

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planning, however, are practical and feasible and therefore, should most certainly be considered in attempts to safeguard treasures of the world. Rich history, ethnic inclusiveness and strong heritage make South Africa what it is, the rainbow nation, a title which illuminates our cultural diversity and the nation would like to partake in any proposed policies, which would help accentuate our motto; "Unity in Diversity."
http://lingsib.unesco.ru/en/articles/smeets.shtml.htm (UNESCO website- safeguarding indigenous languages) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa#Languages http://www.southafrica.info/about/people/language.htm

Safeguarding Tangible Cultural Heritage in Emergency Situations

Whether it is in the forms of simple trinkets and sculptures from a bygone era to towering forms of architecture laboriously created by our ancestors, tangible cultural heritage is an important means of highlighting the traditions and customs a society has. Moreover it is one of the remaining methods of transmitting these ideas globally to others as millions visit the range of sites available only due to careful attention and safeguarding brought about by past events. As a result, UNESCO has acknowledged the degree of severity of this issue since the 1950s, setting up policies and strategies to combat the effects of armed conflict and the unpredictable threat of natural disasters against these sites. These movements are embodied in the treaty at the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property (First Protocol signed in 1954) followed by the Second Protocol in 1999 for enhanced protection against armed conflict, combined with the 1972 treaty at the World Heritage Convention regarding reducing risks from natural disasters at these sitesi. South Africa joined this organisation, inclusive of being part of the laws mentioned above, in 1946 and finally became a permanent member in 1994. Developing the country whilst maintaining its rich heritage is one of its main aims and this is portrayed by ratification of the World Heritage Convention in 1997 and moreover initiating the African World Heritage Fund with a US$ 2.7 million contribution. The Republic of South Africa itself has 8 sites (4 cultural, 3 natural and 1 mixed) on UNESCOs World Heritage List, a collection of esteemed locations around the world that signify outstanding universal value. With reference to the criterion previously stated the alarming effects of global warming and the resultant climate change specifically is proving to be quite a burden for The Republic of South Africa. One of the victims for example is the loss of biodiversity in the Cape Floral Kingdom, home to 20% of the continents flora, a natural site. Recognising these problems, The Republic of South Africa has resorted to measures such as relocating certain species to prevent extinction, and in addition it has restricted any access for the public dividing the site into 8 different protected sectionsii. This was quite cumbersome at first but made more efficient with research and aid from the marine programme of Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, another site benefiting from UNESCO legislation (World Heritage Marine Programme.) However, these responses are only applicable to natural sites and moreover this is another leakage of money from an already

Anmol Mohapatra & Shireen Tyagi

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pressurised economy with 25% unemployment rate and a meagre GDP. As a result, the funding for these methods only result in increasing debts for the government with current figures standing at 36% of GDP at debtiii! The majority of our actions have been suggested by UNESCO and made possible only through their physical presence hence it is time we get the government and in particular the key to heritage- our population, involved in activities contributing to improve, sustain and protect the surrounding conditions of these sites. Firstly, the government should target certain sites preferably a mix of cultural and natural, and make them accessible to the public. At the moment, Robben Island used as a museum and Vredfort Dome the only essential example to provide meteorite structure used as a location of research by a plethora of geologists are the only sites open to the public. The hidden potential of this method is not yet realised. Not only does it allow the people to experience their roots and heritage themselves, it provides the opportunity for involvement in transferring certain items from the site during emergencies. For example, in the short run due to frequent visits to the site, aid can be supplied immediately whilst evacuation is also made more efficient due to known routes and familiarity of location. The bonus benefit is seen in the long run, it is economically aiding the nation as firms such as travel agencies, transport companies, and etc. can settle in the vicinity creating an extra boost in funding to safeguard these sites and a reduction in unemployment developing the overall economy and enhance the success of this method. However, care must be taken to limit expansion to a certain number of firms to prevent any damage to the actual site and hinder attention away from the site itself. Similarly, with the locations that are too sensitive for such crowds, the government should enable education for the surrounding community regarding how to enforce their responsibility upon the site by maintain a high degree of care and concern when an emergency appears on the horizon. Perhaps, they can resort to basics such as creating hiding places amongst the flora and fauna e.g. underground complexes such as in China and Vietnam. In conclusion, these methods ensure not only provide a solution to the main target of safeguarding intangible heritage with costs kept to a minimum, they supplement this objective with the bonus result of transmitting our cultural background amongst our people of all generations, encouraging them to learn and participate creating a patriotic fervour for the Rainbow Nation making it vibrant once more and developing it step by step.

Anmol Mohapatra & Shireen Tyagi

January 2011

What the Convention contains UNESCO. 1972. Web. 15 January 2011 Cape Floral Region Protected Areas World Heritage Convention. 2004. Web. 15 January 2011 South African Economy Wikipedia. September 2010. Web. 15 January 2011

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