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Languages and Technology in an Uncertain World: Threats and Possibilities
**Call for Participation**
The Study Group on Language and the United Nations presents:
Languages and Technology in an Uncertain World:
Threats and Possibilities
A Virtual Symposium on 8 May 2026
Technology has long shaped the work of language professionals. The rapid growth of AI‑driven language technologies, in particular, has brought new issues and challenges to the forefront. How are emerging language tools making the work of translators and interpreters more efficient? What new pressures or complexities do these innovations introduce? What existential implications do AI tools have for human interaction and communication? How might advances in artificial intelligence expand opportunities for equitable communication across languages, and at the same time, what challenges do they pose for the human dimensions of translation and interpreting? How might language technologies contribute to advancement and limitations of linguistic rights and human rights in general? Panelists will explore these and related issues.
Event Details
The symposium will take place virtually on 8 May 2026.
08:00-12:00 – New York
14:00-18:00 – Geneva
15:00-19:00 – Nairobi
19:00-23:00 – Bangkok
Interpreting is expected to be provided in English, French, and Spanish. A detailed programme is available here.
Registration
The symposium is open to United Nations staff members, delegates of Member States and staff members of missions, government officials of all levels, university researchers and students, NGO representatives, members of civil society, and others with an interest in multilingualism There is no cost to attend the symposium, but preregistration is required. Register here as soon as possible, but no later than 7 May.
Symposium Sponsors
The symposium is hosted by the Study Group on Language and the United Nations in collaboration with the NGO Committee on Language and Languages, a substantive committee of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO), the Esperantic Studies Foundation (ESF), and the Consortium for Language Policy and Planning (CLPP).
