The European Union aspires to be united in diversity. The defence, promotion and valuing of linguistic diversity plays a fundamental role in this quest. Languages are incredible tools with which we think, learn, relate to the world and communicate with others. They are also embedded in our identities and fundamentally intertwined with culture. While constantly evolving, they connect us to our past and contribute to building our future. Europe is a culturally rich continent, and the diversity of its regional and minority languages surely represents a linguistic treasure. There are some 60 regional and minority languages in the European Union on top of its 24 official languages. Diversity is a fundamental element of life, and the EU is committed to respect linguistic diversity as enshrined in Article 22 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union "The Union respects cultural, religious and linguistic diversity", and in Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union "The Union shall respect its rich cultural and linguistic diversity, and shall ensure that Europe's cultural heritage is safeguarded and enhanced." The EU works and acts, within its scope of competence, to promote language diversity and this, regardless of their status. The Council Recommendation on a comprehensive approach to the teaching and learning of languages, of May 2019, aims at enhancing language learning, giving the objective of acquiring two languages in addition to the mother tongue. It takes the multitude of linguistic realities into account, acknowledging, respecting, and valuing mother tongues or home languages, which can be different than those of schooling. Languages are also a cornerstone of the European Education Area by 2025 and beyond, participating to create a genuine and European learning space. This brochure showcases numerous projects funded under Erasmus+ and Creative Europe Programmes. The list is non-exhaustive. Creative Europe alone supports on average more than 400 translations per year from and to more than 40 languages including many regional and minority languages. The idea of this brochure is to give some examples of creative and innovative projects, raise interest on the topic and present different ways to approach it. It is also meant to help inspire teachers, non-governmental organisations, cultural and creative operations, project applicants and policy makers across Europe to develop their professional practice.
