Celebrating a decade of local languages

At the end of last year, Unesco celebrated the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032), and highlighted a 10-year action plan to draw the world’s attention to the critical loss of indigenous languages and the urgent need to preserve, revitalise and celebrate them.

Unesco, as the UN organisation in charge of education, sciences, culture and communication and information, is leading the cause. The decade aims to raise awareness about the critical situation of indigenous languages around the world and mobilise stakeholders for immediate safeguarding actions.

According to Unesco, the situation of indigenous languages is alarming, with at least 40 per cent of the more than 6,700 languages spoken around the world threatened with extinction in the long term, due to a lack of speakers. “This would have severe consequences for cultural diversity and would jeopardise the centuries-old knowledge and know-how that could be decisive in humanity’s efforts to solve the challenges of this century, including climate change and biodiversity loss,” the UN body warns. 

Furthermore, less than two per cent of languages have any real presence online, including localised software and websites, translation and text-to-speech services and content moderation algorithms.This prevents millions of indigenous language speakers and signers from fully engaging in society and shows the need for the active development of a truly multilingual digital world.

The director-general of Unesco, Audrey Azoulay, said: “Language is what makes us human. When peoples’ freedom to use their language is not guaranteed, this limits their freedom of thought, of opinion and expression, as well as their access to rights and public services. This decade must accelerate the mobilisation of the international community to safeguard Indigenous languages in the long term.” 

The event to celebrate the decade which was held at the Unesco headquarters in Paris, France, brought together more than 700 delegates from Unesco’s 193 member states, including ministers responsible for language policies at national level, indigenous leaders, heads of national language development agencies, language institutes and academic organisations, and public and private sector representatives.

They discussed in detail the Global Action Plan, which is guiding implementation throughout the decade. It aims to increase the number of new language users (speakers and signers), improve language fluency and encourage greater functional use of indigenous languages in the public domain. It also encourages respect for linguistic diversity, intercultural dialogue and inclusive education, and calls for the strengthening of international cooperation. Moreover, the plan addresses all aspects of the daily life of speakers. It advocates for greater access to food, justice and healthcare services, social cohesion, digital empowerment, culture, biodiversity, access to employment within the context of revitalisation, cultivation, and sustainability of Indigenous languages.

The event provided an open space for discussion, sharing of good practices, and presentation of concrete projects. It also featured a cultural performance by indigenous artists. A global social media campaign is being carried out in conjunction with the high-level celebration, to increase awareness about the International Decade of Indigenous Languages.