Sinfree Makoni is a Liberal Arts Professor in applied linguistics and African studies and Director of the African Studies Program at Pennsylvania State University, USA. He holds Extraordinary Professorship, Visiting Professor and Researcher positions at several South African institutions: North-West University, Nelson Mandela University, University of the Western Cape and University of Zululand.

Chanel van der Merwe is a Lecturer in linguistics and applied linguistics at Nelson Mandela University, and a doctoral candidate at University of Cape Town, South Africa. Her research interests include the African university, language policy, multilingualism, feminist and southern epistemologies. She is an organizing team member of the Global Virtual Forum hosted by the African Studies Centre at Penn State University under the leadership of Professor Sinfree Makoni.