ELEN Barcelona 2024 Conference

ELEN European Language Equality Network
REEL Réseau Européen pour l'Égalité des Langues
CONCEPT NOTE
ELEN CONFERENCE, BARCELONA 2024

Institut d’Estudis Catalans, Carrer del Carme, 47, 08001 Barcelona. Catalonia.
Saturday June 15th 2024.
Working Title: “Protecting Education in Minoritised Languages and Strengthening Language

Rights - How to Progress in a Hostile Environment.”
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 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 discuss and formulate actual legal solutions to
the ongoing threats these languages face by examining how NGOs can effectively litigate to
protect them, and to discuss and develop a programme of legal actions to be brought before
the ECtHR and ECJ, as well as domestic courts, that will have a lasting and substantive effect
in the protection of RMLs for future generations.
The Context. Over thirty years have passed since the adoption of European and international
instruments which started to lay the groundwork for the protection of Europe’s indigenous
minoritised languages. In 2022, the United Nations celebrated the 30th anniversary of the
adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious
and Linguistic Minorities. 2023 marked the 25th anniversary since the entry into force of the
Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, as well as 30 years since the
establishment of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities’ office in The Hague.
However, despite the early promise of these Treaties and that of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty (2007)
and Charter of Fundamental Rights (2000), there is still no comprehensive legal framework and
monitoring mechanism that gives clear, unambiguous language rights and protection to
Europe’s minoritised languages and immersion education in these languages.
ELEN member organisations, most of whom are specialists in endangered language recovery
and the protection of language rights, constantly report on inadequate legal frameworks, lack
of implementation of existing measures, especially the lack of legal remedies concerning the
provision and protection of territorial language immersion education. This deficit poses an
existential threat for endangered languages in particular where access to and the provision of
immersion education is seen as one of the main ingredients for effective language recovery.
One of the focuses of the conference is the legal attack on the successful Catalan model and
on how territorial language immersion education is also undermined in other EU Member
States such as France. The conference will examine these examples and make
recommendations on how to deal with these kinds of attacks, and how activists, governments
and other stakeholders can develop adequate protection mechanisms so as to eliminate these
kind of threats in the future.
The social, political, and economic hardships of the last several years have further exacerbated
the inequalities faced by linguistic minorities, with the COVID pandemic acting to make what
was already a difficult situation worse. In addition, the ongoing rise in hate-speech affects an
increasing amount of minoritised language speakers. Furthermore, most languages represented
by ELEN member organisations are not well-resourced, cross-border minority languages, but
are defined as endangered and face additional existentialist threats. It is therefore vital that
civil society makes new proposals to improve the protection and promotion of the rights to use
and learn our languages.
This European level conference will assess the overarching threats to our languages and seek
a consensus about what can be done to combat these threats. ELEN members, language
activists and other stakeholders, are already fully briefed on current problems facing our
languages, therefore the conference will focus on solutions. The discussions will lead to a
strategic document and roadmap that will chart the course for the next decade on how we
further develop and protect our languages in the European and national contexts. The results
from the conference will form part of ELEN’s work at the 2024 General Assembly in the Basque
Country where proposed measures will be discussed and adopted.
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.
AGENDA
Friday 14th June

18.00 Official Pre-Conference Reception
Saturday 15th June

Venue: Institut d’Estudis Catalans, Carrer del Carme 47, 08001 Barcelona.
9.30 Opening Remarks

ELEN, CATESCO, Catalan Government
10.00 Opening Presentations

Language rights are human rights: international perspectives on the rights of minoritised
language speakers to education in their own language.
Discussion points: Which international institutional legislation and treaties have been most
effective in protecting and facilitating education in minoritized languages?
Speakers: UN Special Rapporteur for Minority Issues; Council of Europe FCNM Advisory
Committee President; Council of Europe ECRML Committee of Experts; ELEN President.
11.30 Panel 1
Local perspectives on education in minoritised languages, the benefits and successes, how is
it protected?
Discussion points: the model of education in your country, legislation and measures that have
been effective in protecting and developing education in minoritized languages, impact on
social use, indirect benefits.
Panellists from ELEN member organisations representing Catalan, Basque, Galician, Breton,
Irish and Frisian.
13.00 LUNCH
14.00 Panel 2
Ensuring the adequate protection of minoritised languages – strategic litigation.
Discussion points: what should the focus be for activists to develop adequate protection?
Strategic Litigation at the ECtHR or ECJ? Lobbying the EU for a Directive? Improving the
effectiveness of the ECRML/ FCNM? Work for new international legislation? And/Or focus
at the state/ autonomous government level?
Speakers: Human rights lawyers with expertise in strategic litigation; former UN Special
Rapporteur for Minorities; Basque language rights observatory; academic specializing in
language rights; Council of Europe FCNM Advisory Cttee or ECRML COMEX.
Panel 3
Recommendations: developing a roadmap towards achieving better protection for
European minoritised languages
Discussion points: based on the work of the previous panels, what are the conclusions and
recommendations that we can draw from them? What are the next steps? Discussions will
focus on developing a roadmap towards better protection for minoritised languages.
Panellists: ELEN President and Secretary-General; Council of Europe; human rights lawyer;
UN Special Rapporteur.
20.00 Conference Dinner

ELEN Barcelona 2024 Conference

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ELEN European Language Equality Network

REEL Réseau Européen pour l'Égalité des Langues

ELEN CONFERENCE, BARCELONA 2024

Working Title: “Protecting Education in Minoritised Languages and Strengthening Language

Friday 14th June

Saturday 15th June

9.30 Opening Remarks

10.00 Opening Presentations

20.00 Conference Dinner

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