linguistic diversity

Language and Minority Rights: A Dialogue Forum with the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues

The United Nations Charter (Article 1) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 2) affirm the right to non-discrimination based on language while the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities (Article 2) asserts that persons belonging to minorities have the right to “use their own language, in private and in public, freely and without interference or any form of discrimination.”  Yet linguistic minorities throughout the world continue to experience challenges to their language rights as well as inequitable access to other civil and human rights.

In this session, current Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues Fernand de Varennes will discuss the intersection of language and minority rights, including implementational challenges and possibilities. Representatives of NGOs, Secretariat and UN agency staff, colleagues from Member States, scholars, and others interested in linguistic minority rights are invited to participate in an open dialogue with the Special Rapporteur.

Register here by November 27!

About the Special Rapporteur:

Professor Fernand de Varennes, a globally recognized expert on linguistic and human rights, has served as the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues since 2017 Reporting to the Human Rights Council and to the General Assembly, the Special Rapporteur promotes the implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities and guides the work of the Forum on Minority Issues, among other responsibilities.

Programme:

  • 8:45 – 9:00am  Sign In
  • 9:00 – 9:05am  Introduction – Francis M. Hult, Chair, Committee on Language and Languages
  • 9:05 – 9:35am  Fernand de Varennes, Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues
  • 9:35 – 9:55am  Open Dialogue
  • 9:55 – 10:00am  Closing Remarks – Humphrey Tonkin, Vice-Chair, Committee on Language and Languages

_________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: The NGO Committee on Language and Languages is a Substantive Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations. For more information, please email the chair at fmhult@umbc.edu. Likewise, for more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit un-ngocrip.net. 

Language and Minority Rights: A Dialogue Forum with the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues

The United Nations Charter (Article 1) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 2) affirm the right to non-discrimination based on language while the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities (Article 2) asserts that persons belonging to minorities have the right to “use their own language, in private and in public, freely and without interference or any form of discrimination.”  Yet linguistic minorities throughout the world continue to experience challenges to their language rights as well as inequitable access to other civil and human rights.

In this session, current Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues Fernand de Varennes will discuss the intersection of language and minority rights, including implementational challenges and possibilities. Representatives of NGOs, Secretariat and UN agency staff, colleagues from Member States, scholars, and others interested in linguistic minority rights are invited to participate in an open dialogue with the Special Rapporteur.

Register here by November 27!

About the Special Rapporteur:

Professor Fernand de Varennes, a globally recognized expert on linguistic and human rights, has served as the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues since 2017 Reporting to the Human Rights Council and to the General Assembly, the Special Rapporteur promotes the implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities and guides the work of the Forum on Minority Issues, among other responsibilities.

Programme:

  • 8:45 – 9:00am  Sign In
  • 9:00 – 9:05am  Introduction – Francis M. Hult, Chair, Committee on Language and Languages
  • 9:05 – 9:35am  Fernand de Varennes, Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues
  • 9:35 – 9:55am  Open Dialogue
  • 9:55 – 10:00am  Closing Remarks – Humphrey Tonkin, Vice-Chair, Committee on Language and Languages

_________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: The NGO Committee on Language and Languages is a Substantive Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations. For more information, please email the chair at fmhult@umbc.edu. Likewise, for more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit un-ngocrip.net. 

UNESCO and Multilingualism: A Dialogue Forum

The NGO Committee on Language and Languages presents

UNESCO and Multilingualism: A Dialogue Forum

18 May 2022

REGISTER HERE

For over 70 years, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has been a leading voice on multilingualism.  Today, it engages in numerous initiatives to advance linguistic diversity.  In this forum, UNESCO staff members working on multilingual education, the World Atlas of Languages (WAL), and the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (IDIL) discuss ongoing initiatives and forthcoming developments.  The session follows a show-and-tell and conversation format to facilitate dialogue.  Representatives of NGOs, Secretariat and UN agency staff, and colleagues from Member States are welcome to attend.  A business meeting of the NGO Committee on Language and Languages will take place during the final 40 minutes.

Event Details

The NGO Committee on Language and Languages (CoLL) is hosting the dialogue forum virtually on 18 May 2022.

08:45-11:00 – New York
14:45-17:00 – Geneva
15:45-18:00 – Nairobi
19:45-22:00 – Bangkok

Registration

Representatives of NGOs, Secretariat and UN agency staff, and colleagues from Member States are welcome to attend.   There is no fee, but preregistration is required.  Register here as soon as possible, but no later than 16 May.

Programme

8:45-9:00am Sign In

9:00-9:05am   Francis M. Hult – Introduction

Interim Vice-Chair, NGO Committee on Language and Languages

9:05-9:10am   Eliot Minchenberg – Welcome

Director of Office and UNESCO Representative to the United Nations in New York

9:10-9:30am   Noro Andriamiseza Ingarao – Multilingual Education

Programme Specialist in Education, UNESCO

9:30-9:50am   Irmgarda Kasinskaite – International Decade of Indigenous Languages

Advisor, Communication and Information, UNESCO

9:50-10:10am Bhanu Neupane – World Atlas of Languages

Advisor, Open Access to Scientific Information and ICT & Sciences, UNESCO

10:10-10:20am General Discussion about the Multilingual Initiatives of UNESCO

10:20-11:00am CoLL Business Meeting

Humphrey Tonkin, presiding

Interim Chair, NGO Committee on Language and Languages

_____________________

CoNGO Notes: This event is held 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). Learn more about this Committee and how you may collaborate with it by visiting substantive committees.

UNESCO and Multilingualism: A Dialogue Forum

The NGO Committee on Language and Languages presents

UNESCO and Multilingualism: A Dialogue Forum

18 May 2022

REGISTER HERE

For over 70 years, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has been a leading voice on multilingualism.  Today, it engages in numerous initiatives to advance linguistic diversity.  In this forum, UNESCO staff members working on multilingual education, the World Atlas of Languages (WAL), and the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (IDIL) discuss ongoing initiatives and forthcoming developments.  The session follows a show-and-tell and conversation format to facilitate dialogue.  Representatives of NGOs, Secretariat and UN agency staff, and colleagues from Member States are welcome to attend.  A business meeting of the NGO Committee on Language and Languages will take place during the final 40 minutes.

Event Details

The NGO Committee on Language and Languages (CoLL) is hosting the dialogue forum virtually on 18 May 2022.

08:45-11:00 – New York
14:45-17:00 – Geneva
15:45-18:00 – Nairobi
19:45-22:00 – Bangkok

Registration

Representatives of NGOs, Secretariat and UN agency staff, and colleagues from Member States are welcome to attend.   There is no fee, but preregistration is required.  Register here as soon as possible, but no later than 16 May.

Programme

8:45-9:00am Sign In

9:00-9:05am   Francis M. Hult – Introduction

Interim Vice-Chair, NGO Committee on Language and Languages

9:05-9:10am   Eliot Minchenberg – Welcome

Director of Office and UNESCO Representative to the United Nations in New York

9:10-9:30am   Noro Andriamiseza Ingarao – Multilingual Education

Programme Specialist in Education, UNESCO

9:30-9:50am   Irmgarda Kasinskaite – International Decade of Indigenous Languages

Advisor, Communication and Information, UNESCO

9:50-10:10am Bhanu Neupane – World Atlas of Languages

Advisor, Open Access to Scientific Information and ICT & Sciences, UNESCO

10:10-10:20am General Discussion about the Multilingual Initiatives of UNESCO

10:20-11:00am CoLL Business Meeting

Humphrey Tonkin, presiding

Interim Chair, NGO Committee on Language and Languages

_____________________

CoNGO Notes: This event is held 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). Learn more about this Committee and how you may collaborate with it by visiting substantive committees.