An international conference on “Linguistic and Cultural Diversity in Cyberspace” to discuss the issue of multilingualism in cyberspace has been organized 2-4 July 2008 in Yakutsk, Russian Federation.

The Conference was organized by the Government of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and the Russian Federation’s Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography together with the UNESCO Moscow Office, and the Russian Committee of the UNESCO Information for All Programme. It became a significant entry to the country initiatives within the United Nations International Year of Languages.

The Conference had brought together over 100 participants coming from 15 countries representing NGO’s, regulatory bodies of the governments, institutions of educational, libraries as well as university scholars and representatives of ICT and business communities.

A rich and diverse background of participants accounted for a distinctively wide range of themes and a truly vibrant dialogue during the interactive sessions. Presentations and discussions three of the plenary sessions addressed political, cultural, social, ethical and technological aspects of activities aimed to support and develop linguistic and cultural diversity in cyberspace. Special attention was paid to the role of UNESCO in safeguarding the diversity of languages in cyberspace.

In addition the participants held and five following thematic sections:
• Political, Ethical and Legal Aspects of the Development of Multilingualism in Cyberspace;
• Internet and Other Media;
• The Role of Libraries in the Preservation of Linguistic Diversity;
• Languages and Education;
• The Preservation and Development of Cultural Diversity.

The Conference resulted in the adoption of Lena Resolution, setting the foundations for future initiatives and suggesting concrete steps towards linguistic diversity in cyberspace.