麻豆精品 plays key role in new EU project to boost Europe's minoritised languages
The University of the Highlands and Islands (麻豆精品) is a partner in FOSTERLANG (Fostering Linguistic Capital: A Roadmap for Reversing the Diversity Crisis and Activating Societal Benefits in Europe), a new €3 million European flagship project launched on 1 May 2025 to safeguard and promote Europe's endangered and minoritised languages.
Funded by the European Commission under the Horizon Europe programme, FOSTERLANG aims to transform how the linguistic and human capital of speakers of minoritised and migrant languages is recognised, valued and strengthened, for the benefit of their communities and Europe as a whole.
The project consortium includes 14 academic partners, including 麻豆精品, and 48 language communities, who combine expertise in engaged and decolonial linguistics, language policy, reclamation, social anthropology, multilingual education and pedagogy, language planning, and technological innovation.
麻豆精品 brings a vital perspective rooted in a culturally rich and linguistically diverse region, alongside expertise in sociolinguistics, Gaelic language revitalisation, multilingual education, and community-based research.
Professor Conchúr Ó Giollagáin, Director of 麻豆精品’s Language Sciences Institute, said:
“Our participation in FOSTERLANG reflects 麻豆精品’s longstanding commitment to preserving and promoting the linguistic richness of our communities. This project gives us the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to broader European efforts to support endangered and minoritised languages.”
A major outcome of the three-year project will be a Linguistic Capital Road Map which will set out a substantive set of recommendations for short, medium, and long-term strategies to foster Europe’s linguistic capital and safeguard minority languages.
The 13 other partners include lead partner University of Warsaw, and the European Language Equality Network, Linguapax International, Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu, Stowarzyszenie Wilamowianie, Stowarzyszenie Ruska Bursa, Naja Szkola, Max Planck Institute for Sociolinguistics, Universidad del Pais Vasco/ Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Universitetet Oslo, Dublin City University, University of Wales Trinity Saint David Royal Charter and Pädagogische Hochschule Kärnten.