University of Strathclyde Languages Researcher Appointed to Prestigious UNESCO Role
Dr Ingeborg Birnie, a Senior Lecturer in Strathclyde’s Institute of Education, has been named as rapporteur for the Ad Hoc Group (Provision of Education) and is one of only 20 experts worldwide to have been selected for the group.
Over the next three years, Dr Birnie and her colleagues will conduct an audit of current provision for indigenous languages. The group will also create a framework for communities, organisations and governments to carry out their own evaluation of provision.
The outcomes of the audit will be used to create a policy recommendation which considers knowledge of a language and culture, as well as the linguistic competences in the language, and ways in which these can be supported in and through education.
The UN General Assembly has declared 2022 – 2032 the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (IDIL), to highlight the imperilled state of many languages.
According to the UN, there are at present approximately 6,700 languages in the world, of which 96% are spoken by only 3% of the global population. Indigenous people make up less than 6% of this population yet speak more than 4,000 of the languages. Conservative estimates suggest that more than half of the world’s languages will become extinct by 2100.
Dr Birnie said: “This is a very exciting opportunity to work on a supranational level with other experts in the field of endangered and indigenous languages on their promotion, focusing on education. This aligns with my work with Gaelic medium education and research into Gaelic language use in school and in the community, and minority language communities in Europe in general.
“In this role, I will be sharing information relating to the work from the group with the UNESCO secretariat and members of the Global Task Force, as well as sharing the work of the group with different audiences.
I am particularly excited to work with others from across a range of different contexts, with each part of the globe represented within the group. The range of prospects is very interesting and highlights the variety in provision for indigenous languages across the world – in education but also more generally.
The group consists of government officials, representatives of indigenous community groups, and academics from across the world and is one of four task groups established to advise on the implementation of a global action plan on indigenous languages. The others cover the themes of: indigenous language transmission and resilience building; recognition, status and implementation of policy, and digital equality and domains.
Article 30 of the UN Convention on Rights of a Child, incorporated into Scots law in 2024, states: “Governments should make sure children can learn the language, religion, and culture of their family if it is different from those of most people in the country where they live.”