Steering Committee and Staff

ELEN’s strength lies with its people and our member organisations. They represent the highest level of expertise in lesser-used language protection and promotion with experiences from many linguistic situations. The ELEN Steering Committee, our governing body, features a wealth of this expertise from across Europe.

Prof. Elin Haf Gruffydd Jones

ELEN President

Prof. Elin Haf Gruffydd Jones is the Director of the Centre for Welsh and Advanced Celtic Studies (CAWCS) at the University of Wales and Director at Mercator International. She has lectured and published widely on media, languages, creative translation and the cultural industries.

Dr. Davyth Hicks

ELEN Secretary-General

Davyth Hicks is a specialist on European territorial, minoritised and endangered languages, the regeneration and recovery of these languages, and on linguistic rights. As Secretary-General and one of the founders of ELEN he plays a key role in developing effective language policies and legislation at the international European, State and local level. He is ELEN’s chief advocate and representative to the EU, the Council of Europe, and the UN, and co-leads ELEN.

Drs. Mirjam Vellinga

ELEN Vice-President

Drs. Mirjam Vellinga is head of the language promotion division at Afûk, the organisation in Fryslân that promotes Frisian language and culture. In 2007 she initiated and developed the successful language promotion ‘Praat mar Frysk’. She is also involved in projects relating to Frisian usage in healthcare and the private sector, as well as and advising public services on language policy.

Mr Ciarán Mac Giolla Bhéin

ELEN Vice-President

Ciarán Mac Giolla Bhéin is the President of Conradh na Gaeilge and manages Fis an Phobail, the West Belfast Irish language planning project.

Mr Tangi Louarn

ELEN Vice-President

Tangi Louarn is President of the large Breton umbrella NGO Kevre Breizh, and leads on the ELEN France working group which gathers all the territorial language NGOs in the territories under French jurisdiction. He has been a renowned language activist since the 1960s and worked on the Steering Committee of EBLUL. Tangi acts also as ELEN’s representative to the UN and to UNESCO.

Mr Marcos Maciera Eiras

ELEN Vice-President

Marcos Maceira Eiras is the President of A Mesa pola Normalización Lingüística, the leading NGO for the protection and promotion of Galician.

Ms Idurre Eskisabel

ELEN Vice-President

Idurre Eskisabel Larrañaga is the Secretary-General of Euskalgintzaren Kontseilua, the umbrella group of Basque language NGOs with over 30 member organisations.

Ms Elena Jiménez i Botías

ELEN Vice-President

Elena is the international representative for the Catalan NGO Òmnium Cultural, established in the 1960s to work for Catalan language, culture and civil rights.

Ms Marga Payola i Lahoz

ELEN Vice-President

Marga Payola is the international co-ordinator for Plataforma per la Llengua, the Catalan language NGO, and works as a political adviser in the European Parliament.

Mr Dòmhnall MacNèill

ELEN Vice-President

Dòmhnall has worked in broadcast journalism, primarily in Gaelic, with the BBC, STV and Grampian Television. Latterly he held the post of Gaelic Development Manager for The Highland Council, working towards the implementation of the authority’s Gaelic Language Plan, before becoming Comunn na Gàidhlig Chief Executive in early 2010.

Prof. Conchúr Ó Giollagáin

ELEN Vice-President

Prof. Conchúr Ó Giollagáin was appointed to the Gaelic Research Professorship in the University of the Highlands and Islands, Scotland in April 2014. He has led extensive research projects and post-graduate initiatives in language planning and minority language culture and sociology.

Ms. Blanca Trull Armengol

ELEN Social Media Manager and Content Creator.

A graduate in Sociology and Political Science with a Master’s in Human Rights, Peace and Sustainable Development from the University of Valencia, Blanca is a content creator with a critical, socially engaged approach, focusing on sociopolitical and sociolinguistic issues. She currently manages the ELEN social media accounts and is responsible for ELEN content creation.