29.10.2004
Ledikasyon pu Travayer is holding four events to mark 2004 World Creole Language Day (Zurne Mondyal Langaz Kreol). The main public event, the culmination of the events, a Public Lecture on IMPLEMENTING MOTHER TONGUE EDUCATION by Dr. Carol Benson, world renowned expert on the use of the mother tongue in education. The event will be held on Saturday 6th November, 2004 at the LPT Mother Earth Hall at 10.00 am. The lecture will be followed by questions and comments from the public. This event comes at a time when the Government has announced the introduction of the mother language in education.
On Saturday 23rd October, LPT will be having a celebration amongst members at its Gran Rivyer building. The celebration will include story-telling, reading of poems, and the presentation of sketches. Alain Ah-Vee will give the key-note address, and the event will be presided by Rada Kistnasamy.
On the actual World Creole Language Day, 28th October, some LPT members had to be in the Supreme Court because the association has been sued by one of the capitalist firms, Happy World. LPT is being sued alongside the trade union federation, Federation des Travailleurs Unis, in relation to a poster the Federation produced which criticised the management of the firm Happy World. But other members, together with a group of 20 fishermen from Grande Riviere Sud Est, dedicated part of their course at Pointe aux Sables that day to questions and answers about education in the mother tongue, as well as hearing two oral tales: one by LPT member, Andre Pierre and one by one of the fisherman, who is also a story-teller.
The fourth element in LPTs celebration of World Creole Language Day was held on Saturday 23rd October in Curepipe, when LPT member Lindsey Collen did an evaluation of their literacy work with a group of eight teachers in pre-school playgroups, for the Federation of Preschool Playgroups.
Alain Ah-Vee was on Radio Plus and on Top FM in connection with World Creole Language Day on the day.
Later today (29th October) Alain Ah-Vee is due to do a one-hour phone-in program for MBCs Rodrigues broadcast, answering queries from parents in Rodrigues on mother tongue education.
World Creole Language Day has been celebrated since 1982, when Bann Zil proposed such a celebration. 14 to 15 million people world-wide speak Creole languages.