The European Network for Linguistic Equality declares a state of "emergency" due to the decline in the social use of Catalan.
The ELEN assembly held in Barcelona calls for "active policies" to "revitalize" minority languages
BarcelonaThe European Network for Linguistic Equality (ELEN) has declared a state of "emergency" due to the "decline" in the social use of Catalan. In a final resolution published this Saturday after its general assembly in Barcelona, ELEN called for "coordinated action between public institutions, civil society organizations, and the media to reverse the decline in social use and ensure the future vitality of the language." Furthermore, it demands that governments "guarantee active policies for the revitalization of minority languages and for the legal recognition of their rights." In this regard, the eighty organizations that make up ELEN insist on the official status of Catalan, Galician, and Basque as official languages of the EU and advocate for "updating" the Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights.
Some eighty organizations met in Barcelona from Friday to Saturday to discuss the promotion and protection of minority languages at the general assembly of the European Network for Linguistic Equality (ELEN). This year's meeting, organized by CIEMEN, focused on the use of new technologies and social media to promote these languages.
In addition to the session on new technologies, the ELEN assembly also addressed other issues such as the official status of Catalan, Galician, and Basque in the EU, and the updating of the Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Minorities, Nicolas Levrat, attended the meeting and told ACN that he plans to conduct a mission to the European Union next year to analyze how the rights of minorities, including linguistic minorities, are respected.