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By Nihal Zaroug.
Tripoli, 22 November 2012:
Teachers in the town of Jadu attended the first session of a Tamazight language instruction course on . . .[restrict]Wednesday. Moussa Ahram, the town’s coordinator for the Tamazight curriculum, says that more courses will be organsied soon. A total of 20 teachers participated in learning how to teach Berber scripture and syntax.
This development comes at a time when the country is debating the framework of the constitution, and Libya’s national and linguistic identity will take centre stage. Early this month, Congress President, Mohamed Magarief expressed his support for Tamazight and its inclusion in the constitution. However, it was not stated if it would be considered an official language.
As it stands, Tamaziight is designated as a national language and Arabic as the official language, as specified in the constitutional declaration of August 2011. Amazigh activists have demanded greater recognition of their cultural and linguistic rights. In September, protesters demonstrated at UN’s Tripoli offices, calling for greater recognition of their cultural diversity.
Under Qaddafi’s regime, Amazigh culture was oppressed and teaching Berber was banned. After the fall of the regime, schools in the Libya’s western mountains began teaching children their ancestral language. [/restrict]
