1 May 2025
FOSTERLANG: The new collaborative project aiming to foster the contested capital of minoritised languages in Europe
Fostering linguistic capital: a roadmap for reversing the diversity crisis and activating societal benefits in Europe
Framework:
Call: HORIZON-CL2-2024-HERITAGE-01
Topic: HORIZON-CL2-2024-HERITAGE-01-05
Type of action: HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions
Founding and dates:
European Research Executive Agency (REA)
May 1, 2025 – April 30, 2028
Coordination:
University of Warsaw
Social media:
www.culturalcontinuity.al.uw.edu.pl
Contact: fosterlang@al.uw.edu.pl, crp@al.uw.edu.pl
The FOSTERLANG consortium aims to have a transformative effect on how the linguistic and human capital of speakers of minoritised and migrant languages is recognised, valued and strengthened for the benefit of their communities and Europe as a whole. The project consortium comprises 14 institutional partners and 48 language communities who combine expertise in engaged and decolonial linguistics, language policy, language reclamation, social anthropology, multilingual education and pedagogy, language planning, and technological innovation. The FOSTERLANG project will involve comparative studies, cross-case developments and pilot implementations of practical solutions.
One of the major outcomes will be a Linguistic Capital Road Map which will set out a substantive set of recommendations for the short, medium, and long-term on effective and meaningful strategies for fostering Europe’s linguistic capital and safeguarding minoritised languages. The project’s teamwork focuses on fostering linguistic capital not only from the perspective of protecting language diversity, but also showcasing how speakers of contested languages can enhance economic, demographic, social and health-related components of human capital.
The three-year project will be led by the University of Warsaw in partnership with the European Language Equality Network (ELEN), Linguapax International, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea/University of the Basque Country, University of Oslo, University of the Highlands and Islands, Prifysgol Cymru Y Drindod Dewi Sant/University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Dublin City University, and Pädagogische Hochschule Kärnten/University of Teacher Education in Carinthia. They will be joined by NGOs representing Kashubian, Lemko, and Wymysorys (Naja Skola, Association Ruska Bursa, and Association Wilamowianie), ELEN member organisations and other collaborating language communities.
