Delegations of the South African Students' Congress (SASCO) and the Federation of Afrikaans Cultural Associations (FAK) met each other in Pretoria on Friday the 12th of November to discuss their views of current challenges facing South Africa, especially its youth. SASCO expressed their concern at persisting problems such as student funding, accommodation and access to universities, including historically Afrikaans universities (HAUs). SASCO also stressed how important it is for them to recruit more Afrikaner students as partners in their struggle. The FAK expressed its sympathy for these issues, and emphasized that where the current lack of a clear language policy at HAU's does indeed create problems of access for black students, the erosion of Afrikaans as a university language threatens Afrikaans students' access to universities. Both delegations agreed that further analyses on the nature of the South African state, particularly its remaining colonial characteristics, such as skewed economic ownership patterns and a lack of regard for our indigenous languages, is urgently needed to strengthen democracy in South Africa. SASCO and the FAK agreed to meet again in the near future to discuss possible co-operation, especially around the idea of an African university where Afrikaners and blacks have a huge contribution to make.  

SASCO’s delegation consisted of mr. Bandile Masulu (president), mr. Francis Malesela Maleka (secretary-general) and miss Pamela Masiko (membership manager). The FAK’s delegation consisted of mr. Hennie de Wet (managing director) and mr. Johann Rossouw (research and communication officer)