[Olpc-open] Fwd: 2008 UN Year of Languages. 2008-02-28 International Mother Language Day

[Edward Cherlin]

Would somebody like to list OLPC's language efforts on the UNESCO site?

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Christopher Fynn <cfynn at gmx.net>
Date: Wed, Feb 13, 2008 at 6:42 PM
Subject: FWD:  2008 UN Year of Languages. 2008-02-28 International
Mother Language Day
To: "unicode at unicode.org" <unicode at unicode.org>


-------- Original Message --------
 Subject: UN-Year of Languages
 Date: Thu, 07 Feb 2008 06:07:22 -1000
 From: Yuphaphann Hoonchamlong <yuphapha at hawaii.edu>
 To: sealteach at nectec.or.th, sealang-l at nectec.or.th

 From: Sjoerd Koopman <Sjoerd.Koopman at ifla.nl>
 Date: Feb 4, 2008 8:27 PM
 Subject: [IFLA-L] 2008 UNESCO Year of Languages
 To: IFLA-L <Ifla-l at infoserv.inist.fr>

 Announcement - 2008 Year of Languages

 The year 2008 has been proclaimed International Year of Languages by
 the United Nations General Assembly. With the slogan "languages
 matter!", UNESCO is aiming at extensive fulfilment in its role as
 coordinator of activities for this Year. The conviction that language
 diversity is essential to the human heritage - as each and every
 language embodies the unique cultural wisdom of a people - is the
 common working ground for all those who will respond to this call for
 action.

 Proposed areas for partnership and collaboration are multilingualism
 in cyberspace, radio programmes in all languages, translating projects
 especially from and into lesser known languages, languages and
 migration, safeguarding endangered languages, those being only an
 example of what a Year of Languages can mean for policy makers and
 project organizers. Quoting Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director General of
 UNESCO "The common goal is to ensure that the importance of linguistic
 diversity and multilingualism in educational, administrative and legal
 systems, cultural expressions and the media, cyberspace and trade, is
 recognized on the national, regional and international levels".

 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.

 The formal launching of the Year of Languages will be on 21 February
 2008, the International Mother Language Day.

 Extensive information is to be found on the official UNESCO website
 <www.unesco.org>


See also:
http://www.unesco.org/en/languages
http://donosborn.org/iyl/ Lots of links, including where to sign up as
a participant.

-- 
Edward Cherlin
End Poverty at a Profit by teaching children business
http://www.EarthTreasury.org/
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it."--Alan Kay