Roots 2009 launch

Roots, a unique conference, cultural festival and museum exhibition, will be presented on the University of the Western Cape (UWC) campus for the first time this year. The event will form part of the Heritage Month celebrations.

Roots is an integral part of the Afrikaans Language Project, an initiative of the national Department of Arts and Culture in collaboration with UWC and the Dutch and Belgian embassies. The aim is to create a platform where the relationship between Afrikaans (in its total context) and Dutch will be discussed and celebrated.

On 22 and 23 September the rich diversity of Afrikaans will be the focus of varied discussions and several genres of arts and cultural activities. Relationships that formed around the language, its origins and subsequent development together with the Netherlands and other Dutch-speaking regions will also be investigated. The diversity of the event will be extended even further by taking into account Malay-Portuguese and Khoi influences on Afrikaans.

The theme of the two-day conference is “Spreek, Theta, Talk: A South African-Dutch dialogue on the dynamics of language, culture and heritage”. Prominent academics and experts from South Africa as well as the Dutch-speaking regions will participate in interactive discussions across a wide spectrum.

Entrance to the festival and exhibition will be free, but conference seats have to be booked beforehand. For more information about the conference, contact Suzy Flanders at or 021 959 2213. For more information about the festival, contact Vicky Stemmet at or 021 959 2113.