Multilingualism
Language is a primary means for communicating information and knowledge, thus the ability to access content on the Internet in a language which one can use is a key determinant for the extent to which one can participate in the knowledge societies.
Languages are unique tools that enable people to comprehend and describe the world, communicate and transmit knowledge; they are repositories of historical and social experience of nations, and act as socialization factors and means of human self-identification. However, almost half of the world’s languages are facing the risk of extinction, while still more languages are facing the risk of losing their role in many fields, i.e. education, science, culture, mass media, politics, record keeping, business and tourism.
Multilingualism in cyberspace is one of the pillars of pluralistic equitable inclusive knowledge societies and sustainable development. But most of languages are not present in cyberspace and it widens linguistic and digital divide. Citizens without access to cyberspace and its resources are being increasingly marginalized as they have limited access to information and knowledge.
IFAP encourages UNESCO Member States to take language into account when formulating and implementing digital innovation policies and solutions to build fair knowledge societies and use appropriate tools to develop linguistic diversity and multilingualism in cyberspace. IFAP also advocates through policy recommendations preservation of all world languages and the entry of new languages into the digital world, the creation and dissemination of multilingual content in cyberspace including in local languages.
The Recommendation concerning the Promotion and Use of Multilingualism and Universal Access to Cyberspace is an important normative instrument that recognizes that linguistic diversity in technology and universal access to information in cyberspace are at the core of contemporary debates and can be a determining factor in the development of a knowledge-based society.