The EU is renewing its focus on language diversity as it is about to mark International Mother Language Day on Sunday 21 February.
The EU has 24 official languages and around 60 regional and minority languages that have varying levels of official recognition across the bloc, the European Commission said in a release on Friday.
Language is “a vital expression of identity and culture”, and the European Commission’s “Culture Compass for Europe” is intended to preserve linguistic diversity, according to the statement.
Funding and further information
The Commission supports language diversity through Erasmus + and Creative Europe.
Erasmus + is the EU’s education and youth exchange programme, while Creative Europe funds cultural and creative projects.
Examples include creative residencies for writers working in minority languages and student exchanges promoting regional languages across Europe.
More examples are included in a European Commission publication titled "Linguistic diversity in the European Union."
The Commission also supports language diversity through Horizon Europe research projects.
