Ohio University-Zanesville Hosts Nelson Mandela Debater

 Click here to see photos from the event.

Zanesville, OH- Dr. Neville Alexander, noted author and educator, spoke about his ten-year imprisonment at Robben Island South Africa with former South African President Nelson Mandela. Alexander is known as an educator in South Africa and has a high political profile as a left-wing critic and community activist. He served ten years at Robben Island (1964-1974) for alleged conspiracy to commit sabotage, while there he was considered to be a great debater to Nelson Mandela.  “The challenge of debating and competing with people like Nelson was quite important for becoming rigorous and systematic,” says Alexander in an interview with Anthony Sampson, author of “Mandela-“The Authorized Biography.”        

Alexander is currently Director of the Project for the Study of Alternative Education in South Africa (PRAESA), which is a research unit in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Cape Town. PRAESA focuses on language policy in education with special reference to multilingual education and first-language (conventionally, mother-tongue) medium. In this capacity, Alexander has played a key role as an advisor on language policy to various government departments.

Dr. Alexander visited Ohio University-Zanesville on Monday, October 10, at 6:00 p.m. for a free program and public reception immediately following his presentation.