Events

Advancing Humanism through Language Technologies

Language Technolgies for All - LT4All

Date: 24 February, 2025 - 9:00 am - 26 February, 2025 - 6:00 pm

Location: UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France

Rooms: Room II, Room VI

Type: Cat I – International Conference of States

Arrangement type: Hybrid

Language(s): French, Spanish, English

As the world becomes more interconnected, the significance of multilingualism and safeguarding linguistic diversity has increased. Multilingualism plays a pivotal role in fostering social development by promoting inclusion, preserving cultural heritage, as well as empowering marginalized and indigenous communities. The catalytic effect of multilingualism on social development is evident in its promotion of inclusivity, safeguarding of cultural heritage, and empowerment of marginalized communities.

Language technologies are pivotal in harnessing the power of multilingualism. From simple tools facilitating cross-linguistic communication to complex machine translation systems, these technologies enable access to information in native languages while fostering cross-cultural understanding. UNESCO's efforts in advancing language technologies align with its mandate to preserve endangered languages and promote linguistic diversity. 

Organized within the framework of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (IDIL 2022-2032) and to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of International Mother Language Day 2025, the second edition of LT4All (LT4All 2.0), organized by UNESCO, the International Language Resources Association (ELRA) and its Special Interest Group on Under-resourced languages (SIGUL), the event aims to further the agenda of language technologies with a focus on community empowerment. The goal is to harness technology not only to advance itself but also to support and enhance individuals' capabilities.

In this context, UNESCO adopted the 2003 Recommendation concerning the Promotion and Use of Multilingualism and Universal Access to Cyberspace to underscore the importance of multilingualism in the digital age. Recognizing the internet's global reach and its potential for fostering development through enhanced access to information, this recommendation calls for legislative, technical, and other measures to promote multilingualism in cyberspace.

Related Links:

• Flyer

Building on LT4ALL 1.0

The Language Technologies for All (LT4ALL) conference, "Multilingualism for Building Knowledge Societies", held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris in 2019 highlighted the critical role of language in shaping inclusive, cross-cultural dialogues. It addressed various aspects of multilingualism, from the preservation to the impact of digital technologies on communication. Reportedly, the 2019 conference spurred significant initiatives by major tech companies, such as Mozilla, Facebook Meta, and Google, towards developing language technologies for diverse linguistic communities. These initiatives include the creation of speech corpora, self-supervised speech processing, and high-quality machine translation, among others.

Related Links:

• Official website
• Conference
• Programme
• Collection of Research Papers
• 10 Statements
• Concept Note

Recorded Sessions of LT4ALL 1.0:

• LT4ALL 1.0 Day 1 morning session
• LT4ALL 1.0 Day 1 afternoon session
• LT4ALL 1.0 Day 2 morning session
• LT4ALL 1.0 Day 2 afternoon session
• LT4ALL 1.0 Day 3 morning session
• LT4ALL 1.0 Day 3 afternoon session

For more information or if you want to support this event you can contact the responsible team at WAL.data@unesco.org

URL: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/language-technologies-all-lt4all-2025?hub=68184