The following item from the Kenyan paper, Daily Nation, was seen on lgpolicy-list. It discusses the role of the Research Institute of Swahili Studies of Eastern Africa and issues and programs it is occupied with.
Speaking same language with science http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/497572/-/item/0/-/by1haqz/-/index.html By MAZERA NDURYA Posted Tuesday, December 2 2008 at 17:13 The story is told of how countries such as Japan, the Koreas and China became superpowers just after realising that they were losing out by embracing foreign languages as tools for science and technology. Proud of their languages and cultures, the Asian countries are now giants in their own right and contribute immensely to the global economy. That's what the chairman of the newly formed board of directors of the Research Institute of Swahili Studies of Eastern Africa Prof Mohamed Abdulaziz told the people who had gathered at the Lamu Fort for the launch. "We are still mesmerized by other foreign languages, forgetting that by nurturing a language like Kiswahili, we will be much more progressive than we are now. Leading innovators "Other countries have done it and translated all scientific and technological jargon into their local languages, making it easy for people to understand what's happening; today they are the leading innovators," he said. The draft constitution which was abandoned in 2005 had proposed that Kenya develop a bilingual national language policy that would put Kiswahili and English on the same footing. "Since that was not one of the contentious issues in the proposed constitution, we are still optimistic that a Kiswahili policy will be enacted to promote the language as a pillar for development in the East and Central African region," Prof Abdulaziz said. But the biggest challenge for Kenya was to find the vehicle for turning the dream, and the coming into the picture of The institute two years ago now makes that task lighter. On the other hand, the Ministry of Heritage and Culture has draft Bill to be presented to Parliament to establish the Kenya National Kiswahili Council. Swahili scholars will be called upon to provide expertise to the national and regional bodies. Kenya will also be able to export Kiswahili scholars to Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi. The ministry has released Sh35 million for putting up a building to house the institute in Mombasa. Making the announcement in Lamu during the inauguration of the Institute board, PS Jacob Ole Miairon said the project would give the institute teeth to assert itself. Highlights of the new centre include a resource centre, a modern language laboratory and a well stocked library that will provide all the relevant information on the development of Kiswahili and the culture of the Swahili people of Kenya. It will also have an archive for old manuscripts facing extinction due to lack of proper storage. Work on the centre is nearing completion and according to the director of The institute Dr Ahmed Yassin, the institute will mobilise resources to carry out its mandate of enhancing Kiswahili as the language of choice not only in Kenya, but in the region and the world. The institute is already popular with overseas students particularly those from America and Britain who are doing studies on Swahili culture and language. Dr Yassin said there are several students doing PhDs and, that 40 more from the St Lawrence University in the US were expected sometime next year. "The uniqueness of Institute is that it is the only such institution in the region that is taking up Kiswahili language and culture seriously. "UNESCO is currently looking for an institute that will be a focal point in Africa and the fact that East Africa and the Great Lakes Region have come to recognise our contribution, can help us play that role effectively," he said. Eventually, the director said, the institute will establish a Swahili Culture Museum, a one stop shop where tourists, scholars and citizens will learn everything there is about the language and cultures. He however said there will be great need for shift in policy to expand involvement in an aggressive school programme and to engage policy makers to have a fresh look at issues like Kiswahili language examinations. "Some Kiswahili dialects such as Kimvita, Kiamu, Kijomvu and Kitikuu among about 15 of them, are disappearing because they are not recognised in our education curriculum yet they are the basis on which Kiswahili is founded. "The language being taught in schools is that found in books just for purposes of passing examinations; they are not ingrained in culture," he said. The institute also hopes to establish desktop publishing to help writers whose works cannot get published by commercial publishers because the books would not attract huge sales, yet such information was vital for knowledge. In an effort to strengthen the institute, the board in its inaugural meeting appointed three more people, with Prof Ali Mazrui as patron, Prof Abdalla Bujra as chief advisor and Tourism minister Najib Balala to help in fund raising. **************************** Disclaimer ****************************** Copyright: In accordance with Title 17, United States Code Section 107, this material is distributed without profit for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material posted to this list for purposes that go beyond "fair use," you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Content: The sender does not vouch for the veracity nor the accuracy of the contents of this message, which are the sole responsibility of the copyright owner. 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