The Academy is governed by an elected Council, which appoints a President and an Executive Committee. Among the distinguished people who have served as President are the late Professor Gwen Knowles-Williams, the late Professor Guy Butler, the late Mr M C O'Dowd and the late Dr K B Hartshorne.

Cooperation with Organizations in Society

The Academy cooperates closely with other organizations in society.

The changes in South Africa since 1994 have given a new impetus to the work of the Academy. It recognizes South Africa's multilingual heritage and seeks to cooperate with civil society in developing equitable language policies. In 1995, the Academy established its Standing Committee on Language Planning to coordinate submissions relating to development of a national language policy, its interpretation in legislation and the resulting statutory structures.

Submissions were made on the Constitution (especially on the language clauses, on language in education and on academic freedom) and Academy representatives took part in the processes that led to the founding of PanSALB and the S A Geographical Names Council. Submissions were made on language policy in school education and to the National Commission on Higher Education and the subsequent Green and White papers. The focus is chiefly on the particular functions of English as a national resource. The Academy also offers constructive criticism to the media.

The Academy cooperates with business, research and educational institutions to improve the use of English in the workplace and in daily life. It assists people at all levels to enjoy the advantages of having English as a global language for business, technology and the professions. It has been consulted by, among others, the Department of Education, the Human Sciences Research Council, the National Terminology Services, the National Philatelic Services and education departments.

The Academy is governed by a Constitution, which is available as a downloadable file. To be able to read this file on your computer, you will need to download and install the Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is also available from the internet.

Download Constitution

President and Past President

President, Dr Barbara Basel, (l.) and Prof Rosemary Gray (r.), immediate past president of the English Academy of Southern Africa

Patrons

English Academy patrons: Ms Nadine Gordimer and Prof. Njabulo Ndebele

Nobel Laureate Nadine Gordimer, seen here with 2003 Academy Gold Medal winner, Wally Serote

Author and scholar, Njabulu Ndebele, with past-president Rosemary Gray