Dr Iker Erdocia will lead one of the work packages. Credit: Kyran O'Brien

DCU plays role in new €3 million Horizon Europe research project

19/06/2024

Dr Iker Erdocia from SALIS will lead one of the work packages as DCU joins the project as one of fourteen partners.

The project, entitled ‘Fostering Linguistic Capital: A Roadmap for Reversing the Diversity Crisis and Activating Societal Benefits in Europe’, also includes academic partners from Poland, France, Germany, Spain, Norway and the United Kingdom.

The ADAPT SFI Research Centre for AI-Ready Digital Content Technology also played a key role in securing the funding, of which DCU’s share is just over €230,000.

Dr Iker Erdocia said:

“The FOSTERLANG project aims to have a transformative effect on how minoritised languages are protected, used and promoted in Europe. The outcomes include strategic and technologically informed initiatives to enhance their socio-economic position. The project consortium brings the cross-cultural, multidisciplinary expertise of 14 participating organisations, including DCU. I look forward to leading the Work Package ‘Counteracting digital exclusion: IT tools and resources for lesser used languages’.”

These aims will be achieved by developing evidence-based diagnostics of the minority language condition and by suggesting strategic and technologically informed initiatives to protect and enhance their socio- economic position. The project will operate in the context of the competitive societal dynamic between dominant and non-dominant languages.

The 14 members combine strengths and expertise in sociolinguistics, social anthropology, education and pedagogy, language planning, digital innovation, computer science, public policy and language revitalisation.

The major outcome 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 for safeguarding grassroots multilingualism.

The thirteen other partners include lead partner the University of Warsaw, and the European Language Equality Network, Linguapax International, Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu, Stowarzyszenie Wilamowianie, Stowarzyszenie Ruska Bursa, Naja Szkola, Max Planck Institute for Sociolinguistics, Universidad del Pais Vasco/ Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Universitetet Oslo, University of the Highlands and Islands, University of Wales Trinity Saint David Royal Charter and Pädagogische Hochschule Kärnten.