AIP has established a special Vernacular Press Forum (VPF) to help develop indigenous African language newspapers across southern Africa.

Founding chairman, Seipone Xivoni Tshivhoni publisher Diphete Bopape, pointed out at the VPF’s inaugural meeting that 38 million South Africans spoke African languages as their mother tongue but that the overwhelming majority of local newspapers are published in English.

“Millions of South Africans feel like aliens or foreigners in their own country. They think in their mother tongues, but are forced to use English to read about the forces that shape their world. This prevents them from fully expressing themselves, or fully analysing current events, robbing all South Africans of depth and context in our public discourse,” explains Bopape.

“By encouraging more African-language newspapers we hope to enrich the national discourse and to further grow the culture of reading.”

The VPF was founded by 8 member newspapers at a special meeting at AIP’s offices in Johannesburg on May 07. It will operate as a special interest group within AIP, and will seek to develop development programmes to address the special training, content, and business needs of indigenous-language publications.

Proposed programmes include a special bursary scheme for journalists from indigenous-language newspapers, as well as sub-editing courses designed to address African language needs, the creation of special educational and business empowerment content in African languages, and the provision of basic production software in indigenous languages.

The VPF will be run by a small geographically-representative management committee elected by members, while its chairman will serve on AIP’s board as a non-executive director to ensure that it doesn’t duplicate existing AIP programmes, and that it doesn’t work at cross purposes to the common interests of the rest of AIP.

The founding members include Seipone Xivoni Tshivhoni (Limpopo), KZN News (KZN), Pondo News (Eastern Cape), Taxitimes News (North West), Ekasi Bulletin (Limpopo), Leseding (North West), Sosh Times (Gauteng), Leitlho la Kgalagadi (Northern Cape), Township Roundtrip News (Northern Cape).

Anyone interested in joining VPF or further information about its programmes should contact AIP’s secretariat on aip@printmedia.org.za.