In celebrating 100 years of contributing to education in South Africa, Oxford University Press Southern Africa (OUPSA) has launched its flagship centenary campaign: 'Every child deserves a dictionary'.

The campaign will see the educational publisher donating 20 000 dictionaries to schools across South Africa that would otherwise not have the funds to buy such an important and valuable resource.

The 'Every child deserves a dictionary' campaign aims to create awareness about the value of education and language. To kick-start OUPSA’s centenary, 10 000 dictionaries are currently being distributed to schools in the Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, North West, Free State, Gauteng and Western Cape. The donations are facilitated by the Adopt-a-School Foundation which has also helped select schools to receive the dictionaries, in communities where this NGO is active through educational upliftment programmes.

During the second phase of the campaign, members of the public will be encouraged to place a ‘pledge’ - without any cost to themselves - on the everychild.oxford.co.za website. Each ‘pledge’ will result in one dictionary being donated.

In total OUPSA aims to donate 20 000 dictionaries with a value of R2.2-million. Donations to schools in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and the Northern Cape take place during the second part of the campaign and additional books will be dispatched to the remaining provinces during the course of the year. 

"To celebrate 100 years of making a difference to education in our beautiful country, we aim to donate 20,000 copies of our Oxford South African School Dictionary to learners and schools across the country that do not have the funds available to buy such an important resource," says Steve Cilliers, MD of Oxford University Press Southern Africa. 

"We call on the public to get behind the initiative and to show their support through our ‘Every child deserves a dictionary’ campaign which reminds South Africans of the power of knowledge, the value of education and the importance of giving our learners the chance to fully realise their own potential."

Established in South Africa in 1915, OUPSA is a leading publisher of educational material for schools and higher education. OUPSA is especially well-known for its trusted dictionaries and excellent literacy material. The Oxford South African School Dictionary was developed in consultation with a range of South African teachers and language experts and addresses many common usage mistakes that South Africans (learners and adults alike) make. The dictionary is aligned to the curriculum and is one of the non-fiction top-sellers in the country. 

"We truly believe that every child does deserve a dictionary, arming them with the resources they need to help them with their education, as education is the key to social transformation in South Africa and a way to unlock opportunities for the youth of the country," adds Cilliers.

"This campaign is not just about giving something back to the learners of South Africa; it is fundamentally about the value of words, literacy and books."

Sindiwe Magona, internationally recognised writer, activist and teacher who has built her life out of words, also shared her views on why every child deserves a dictionary. 

To pledge a dictionary and for more information, visit the campaign website.

Connect with Oxford University Press Southern Africa on Facebook or follow them on Twitter using the #EveryChild hashtag.