The President's Report

				
2nd November 2005
				
Dear members of WOCAL,
I would like to inform you that I was recently in Addis Ababa attending a conference on Language and Development. I took the opportunity to discuss, 
with the members of the 5th WOCAL Organizing Committee, the progress reached in organizing the 5th Congress to take place from 7th to 11th August 
2006 in Addis Ababa.  The following transpired in our discussion. 
				
Abstracts: 

 So far the Organizing Committee has received only 15 abstracts (outside Ethiopia).  Given that the deadline set for submitting the abstracts is 31st 
December 2005, may I urge you to send your abstracts soonest so as to allow the Organizing Committee to start preparing a provisional Programme. 
	
Since the AAU website appears to be inaccessible from certain countries, I suggest that you send your abstracts directly to the 
Chairperson of the Organizing Committee, Prof. Baye Mekonnen: Email bayemekonnen@yahoo.com  
				
Accommodation: 

The Organizers have managed to identify different types of accommodation ranging from cheap hotels (charging between $30 and $40 a day) to 
University Guest rooms (charging $10 a day).  Prospective participants are advised to book accommodation early as there are limited places in the 
University Guest Houses.  The principle adopted by the Organizing Committee is "first come first served".  You should therefore write to the 
Organizing Committee indicating your accommodation choices.  
				
Transport:

The Organizing Committee is trying very hard to obtain funds to meet transport costs for some of the participants, but funds may only be available 
for the Keynote Speakers.  Participants are therefore advised to seek their own sources of funding.  However, the Organizing Committee will try its 
best to meet all local travel costs (i.e. provision of buses from the Conference Centre to the hotels).  Where such arrangements are not possible, 
the participants will have to meet such costs, usually about $1 per trip within Addis Ababa.  
				
Venue of Congress: 

The Congress will be held at the main campus of the University of Addis Ababa in a new building which has a large conference theatre (for the 
plenary sessions) and small room (for the parallel sessions and parasessions). 
				
Meals: 

Meals will be served in the two University cafeterias.  A meal usually costs about $5.  Participants may have to meet their meal expenses.  
However, there will be some diners organized by the Organizing Committee during the Congress.  
				
Parasessions:

There will be two parasessions:  One organized by Neville Alexander on Language Policy and Language Planning and the other by Karsten Legere, Henry
Muzale and Josaphat Rugemalira on Language Maps in Africa.  Members are encouraged to prepare papers on these themes so as to enable these 
parasessions to run through the length of the Congress. Some limited funds may become available to sponsor some of the participants in these 
parasessions.  Kindly liaise directly with the respective organizers (i.e. Neville Alexander:  nalexand@humanities.uct.ac.za and Karsten Legere: 
afrkl@hum.gu.se).  The planned parasession on the Endangered Languages of Africa by Matthias Brenzinger is yet to be confirmed.   
				
Launching of the Year of African Languages:

Since the 5th WOCAL will coincide with the Year of African Languages celebration (2006), a ceremony to mark this special year will be arranged 
during the Congress.  Also the Congress will provide an opportunity to launch the ACALAN (Academy of languages) activities.  We expect officials 
from the AU to be present at this occasion.   
				
Keynotes Speakers:

In order to ensure the global nature of WOCAL, the Keynote Speakers have been identified from all parts of the world.  There will be five Keynote 
speeches held each morning before the parallel sessions.    
				
Publication of Abstracts and Proceedings:

The abstracts will be compiled and published in a booklet form so that each participant knows the various topics that will the presented at the 
Congress.  After the Congress, those who presented papers will be asked to revise and submit them to the Organizing Committee within a certain 
period for publication.  In case there are many submissions, a selection procedure will be applied.    

May I again encourage all WOCAL members (all linguists and language specialists interested in African languages) to participate in this important 
Congress, particularly as it is being held during the Year of African Languages and in the diplomatic capital of the African Union. Moreover, 
Addis Ababa provides a very conducive environment for academic deliberations.   

With best regards  

Herman Batibo.  

President, Standing Committee of WOCAL