[Edling] Symposium on Language, the Sustainable Development Goals and Vulnerable Populations, New York, May 11-12, 2017

[Francis Hult]

An oft-repeated aim of the Sustainable Development Goals is that they should "leave no one behind" and should concentrate on the most vulnerable populations. They should also encourage two-way communication, not just top-down solutions. But has anyone thought about the role of language in this process? Not enough people, according to the Study Group on Language and the United Nations, whose annual symposium for 2017 will address "Language, the SDGs, and Vulnerable Populations."  The two-day symposium will take place on Thursday and Friday, May 11 and 12, at the UN Church Center, 777 United Nations Plaza, New York beginning at 9:00 a.m. on each day.



The symposium will feature some twenty papers delivered by development professionals, academics, and experts associated with the UN and UNESCO, on a range of issues, including the education of refugee children, migrant education, and problems of language in development. In addition to the USA, presenters will be drawn from a number of countries: Austria, France, Hungary, India, Italy, Lebanon, Pakistan, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the UK. Keynote speakers will be Christine Hélot (University of Strasbourg) and François Grin (University of Geneva).



The Study Group on Language and the UN is working with the Center for Applied Linguistics (Washington DC) and the Centre for Research and Documentation on World Language Problems (CED) in organizing the event. The symposium is underwritten by the Center for Applied Linguistics and the Esperantic Studies Foundation.



The symposium, which is open to UN personnel, NGO representatives, scholars, researchers and others, aims to raise the consciousness of those involved in development work about the need to understand and listen to the voices of those who are often unheard, and to promote research on these problems. Details on registration for the symposium are available at www.languageandtheun.org<http://www.languageandtheun.org>.




-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/edling/attachments/20170418/bb98beeb/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
_______________________________________________
Edling mailing list
Edling at bunner.geol.lu.se
http://bunner.geol.lu.se/mailman/listinfo/edling