ELEN – CATESCO CONFERENCE: “Protecting Education in Minoritised Languages, Strengthening Language Rights: How to Progress?
June 15
Working Title: “Protecting Education in Minoritised Languages and Strengthening Language Rights – How to Progress?
Institut d’Estudis Catalans, Carrer del Carme, 47, 08001 Barcelona. Catalonia. Saturday June 15th 2024, 9.30-17.30.
Topic: Language rights are human rights: the benefits of education in minoritised languages and the rights of speakers of territorial, minoritized and endangered languages.
Brief description: The conference, in partnership with CATESCO and with the support of the Catalan Government, has two main objectives. Firstly, to work to further develop awareness on territorial/minoritized language (RML) rights, in particular with regard to the role of education and immersion programmes in the normal use of these languages in society, taking as one reference the case of Catalonia. Secondly, to examine what actions NGOs can take to protect RMLs that will have a lasting and substantive effect.
The conference will feature presentations from the UN Special Rapporteur for Minorities, the Council of Europe’s ECRML Committee of Experts and Advisory Committee of the Framework Convention for National Minorities, legal experts on strategic litigation, academic experts on immersion education, policymakers (MPs and MEPs), and civil society representatives from ELEN. Invited participants will include NGOs working in the field of human rights and language rights, educationalists, teachers, lawyers specialising in human rights, relevant trade unions, and other stakeholders.