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PUBLIC SPEAKING
SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL BLACK EMPOWERMENT CONFERENCE 2002
Tessa was invited to speak on the topic of African Languages as Empowerment Tools at the national Black Empowerment Conference 2002 held in Sandton. Her talk obviously impressed the audience of business leaders as they voted her second best out of 20 speakers at the conference.
She touched on the personal benefits of understanding an African language. For instance, if you understand an African language you will know what people are saying about you - and you might even like what you hear! She remarked that you might even get someone to say "Heyi, ndiyakuthanda, sana!" "Hey, I love you, baby!" because you had spoken to them in their own language.
On a more serious note she pointed out that a recent Pan South African Language Board survey had established that over 40% of the South African population did not understand what politicians were saying because they spoke in English. She observed that this may or may not be a good thing!
Susan Venter of Marcus Evans, the company organizing the conference, said of Tessa:
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