On 13 November 2025, the Community of Practice for the Teaching and Learning of African Languages (CoPAL) met at the University of the Western Cape for it’s last meeting of the year, that was in-person. The meeting centred on strengthening multilingualism and advancing African language scholarship in higher education. The session brought together representatives from universities and key national stakeholders to share updates on language policy implementation, highlight innovations such as the Sifunda isiZulu ngobuchwephexhe online learning platform, hosted by the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and reflect on progress made across the sector with regards to African languages in research and teaching and learning.

The meeting further explored mother-tongue based bilingual education, language policy monitoring and open access publishing.
Participants also reviewed ongoing collaborative initiatives, including the Sesotho book launch, the Unified Language Conference and current benchmarking activities.

See below for presentations from the meeting:

Meeting: Community of Practice for the Teaching and Learning of African Language (CoPAL)
Date: 13 November 2025
Time: 08:30 – 15:00
Venue: University of the Western Cape
Chairperson: Prof Nobuhle Hlongwa, Dean and Head of School of Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN)
Deputy Chairperson: Prof Lolie Makhubu-Badenhorst, Director: Multilingualism Education Project CHED at the University of Cape Town (UCT)