2008 is "International Year of Languages"

[Don Osborn]

Greetings and Happy New Year to all,

 

The year 2008 has been proclaimed International Year of Languages by the
United Nations General Assembly. UNESCO, which has been entrusted with the
task of coordinating activities for the Year, is determined to fulfill its
role as lead agency.

 

Message from Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, on the
celebration of 2008, International Year of Languages

http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=35559
<http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=35559&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL
_SECTION=201.html> &URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html 

 

More than 50% of the 7,000 languages spoken in the world may disappear. Less
than a quarter of those languages are currently used in schools and in
cyberspace, and most are used only.

 

We must act now as a matter of urgency. How? By encouraging and developing
language policies that enable each linguistic community to use its first
language, or mother tongue, as widely and as often as possible, including in
education, while also mastering a national or regional language and an
international language. Also by encouraging speakers of a dominant language
to master another national or regional language and one or two international
languages. Only if multilingualism is fully accepted can all languages find
their place in our globalized world. sporadically.

 

UNESCO therefore invites governments, United Nations organizations, civil
society organizations, educational institutions, professional associations
and all other stakeholders to increase their own activities to foster
respect for, and the promotion and protection of all languages, particularly
endangered languages, in all individual and collective contexts

 

UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY PROCLAIMS 2008 INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF LANGUAGES TO
PROMOTE UNITY IN DIVERSITY, GLOBAL UNDERSTANDING

http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/ga10592.doc.htm 

 

2008 International Year of Languages at Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Year_of_Languages 

 

2008 International Year of Languages at Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=19666430768

 

[With thanks to Gustavo Lucardi for the formatting concept of this message]

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