E/CN.4/1999/15/Add.1 page 23 83. At Cape Town University, an intergovernmental organization is working on multilingualism: “Project Studies Alternative Education”. This programme is concerned with education in the national languages. It is structured around the eleven official languages (see para. 35) including English and Afrikaans. According to the representative who spoke to the Special Rapporteur, the programme owes its genesis to the ackowledgement that the institutions of State are not used to multilingualism; that White majority institutions do not speak or use African languages; that English, Afrikaans and Xhosa predominate; and that the media do not use African languages, with the exception of the TV and radio programmes broadcast in Xhosa and Zulu. This is a pilot project, still at the experimental stage, which is concerned with education and the elimination of illiteracy for as many people as possible. 84. Some NGOs are working to strengthen communities’ capacities to organize and their resources for influencing governmental or regional policy. Such is the case with the Provincial Parliamentary Programme (PPP), a joint initiative of IDASA, the Institute for Multi-Party Democracy(IMPD), Black Sash and Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) in the province of KwaZulu Natal. The aim is to operate in the provincial parliament with a view to making the parliamentary process more transparent, effective and reflective of the population’s interests. The Programme is also mounting a campaign to have the provincial parliament set up a local body concerned with human rights protection. Projects on political and legal training for members of other NGOs and basic community organizations and the dissemination of information through various publications are basic components of this organization’s programme of action. 85. Finally, other NGOs such as the Community Dispute Resolution Trust (CDRT) are tackling the task of resolving the disputes which divide communities and individuals within communities, as well as political organizations, through dialogue, mediation and conciliation. It should not be forgotten that in KwaZulu Natal there were violent clashes between members of the ANC and Inkatha during the transition to democracy. The CDRT tries to bring members of both parties to the table and to help them resolve their disputes by non-violent means. VI. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS A. Conclusions 86. South African society is changing rapidly. The complex socio-economic situation is characterized on the one hand by opposition to the changes from many among the White minority which holds economic power, and on the other by a rising tide of xenophobia, particularly towards Blacks from other regions of the African continent. 87. From the reform standpoint, South Africa is a vast blueprint for legislation intended to fully democratise society. The political intent of its leaders can be seen in the establishment of institutions inspired by pluralist liberal democracy and by the human rights principles proclaimed and furthered by the UN. But the socio-political burdens, the persistence of an apartheid culture which cannot be transformed quickly, limited financial resources and still inadequate human resources constitute a considerable hindrance, not to mention the need to take account of the time factor, with South Africans impatient to