Meeting paper on the promotion of vernacular languages in Africa, examines the past and present status of African languages and outlines a proposed 10-year plan directed to their utilization as vehicles of cultural development and life-long education - covers questions of standardization of transliteration, publications, teaching materials, educational personnel training and the use of mass media, includes projects for transliteration of representative works, the preparation of dictionary and grammars, of linguistic maps and the setting up of documentation centres and cultural centres, also describes measures to be taken for the preservation of oral traditions