The 9th World Hindi Conference begins at Johannesburg today. It will be inaugurated by Minister of State for External Affairs Parneet Kaur. South Africa's Minister for Finance Mr. Praveen Govardhanji will be the chief guest. The Art and Culture Minister of Mauritius Mr. Mukeshvar Chini will also grace the occasion. About 800 delegates from all over the world will participate in the three day conference. It will deliberate on a series of traditional and contemporary themes related with both classical and modern aspects of Hindi. The theme of the conference this year is 'Bhasha ki asmita aur Hindi ka vaishvik sandarbh.