Fellows co-create Salzburg Statement for a Multilingual World

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Jan 12, 2018
by Louise Hallman
Fellows co-create Salzburg Statement for a Multilingual World

Fellows of the Springboard for Talent session conclude Salzburg Global's year of sessions with a strong statement on the importance of language learning

Salzburg Global Seminar’s 2017 program of sessions closed on a high on December 16 as Fellows representing over 25 countries and many more languages came together to co-create a new “Salzburg Statement.”

Provisionally titled “The Salzburg Statement for a Multilingual World,” the document encapsulates five intensive days’ discussions at the session, Springboard for Talent: Language Learning and Integration in a Globalized World.

The session, held in partnership with ETS, Qatar Foundation International and Microsoft, examined the importance and implications of national language policies; the role of language in creating social cohesion; different forms of and strategies for language teaching; the advantages of multilingualism in the work place and in building more entrepreneurial societies; and the importance of linguistic diversity and language rights vis-a-vis the Sustainable Development Goal on Education (SDG4).

The Statement, which Fellows continued to draft over the holiday season, will offer clear recommendations with regards to both learning and teaching and translating and interpreting, as well as issuing a call to action for a wide variety of actors to value and embrace multilingualism.

Once the Fellows have agreed on a final text in early 2018, several of the multilingual Fellows will translate the text into multiple languages in time for it to be formally published on February 21 – International Mother Language Day.

In addition to the Statement, the 50 Fellows also co-drafted several questions that will be used to help drive a year-long conversation on social media – #multilingualismmatters – about the importance and value of multilingualism in multiple contexts. The questions are broad and wide-ranging, with the intention of engaging Salzburg Global Fellows from other sessions and the general public in the discussion. The conversation will be launched on the Salzburg Global Seminar public Facebook page to encourage maximum participation. 

The #multilingualismmatters campaign, will be launched to coincide with the publication of the Salzburg Statement for a Multilingual World. 

To receive updates about the Statement and to join in the #multilingualismmatters campaign, “like” Salzburg Global Seminar on Facebook or subscribe to our newsletter: www.salzburgglobal.org/go/subscribe


The session, Springboard for Talent: Language Learning and Integration in a Globalized World is part of Salzburg Global Seminar multi-year series  Education for Tomorrow’s World. The session is being held in partnership with ETS, the Qatar Foundation and Microsoft. This project was also supported by The Erste Foundation. To keep up to date with the conversations taking place during the session, follow #SGSedu on Twitter and Instagram.