During the Item 7 dedicated to the progress of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, representatives of Indigenous Peoples, governments and civil society took part in an important dialogue.
The session was opened by EMRIP Member, Gam Awungshi Shimray, and followed by a report on the progress of the Decade delivered by Anabel Benjamin Bara, Representative of the Indigenous Peoples’ Organization, Indigenae Global Confederation, on the Global Task Force of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages.
The report highlighted important progress made in the past year, including the launch of new Action Plans in support of the Decade in Honduras, Papua New Guinea and the Central American region, as well as the ongoing development of Action Plans in Africa and the Pacific, regions that are home to extraordinary linguistic diversity. It also underscored the need for greater policy and government action.
The report further addressed the rapid development of digital technologies and artificial intelligence, which present both opportunities and challenges for Indigenous languages:
While technologies can support the revitalization of Indigenous Peoples’ languages, they also raise important questions regarding the rights of Indigenous Peoples to maintain ownership and control over their languages and knowledge. We have to be cautious about how we are using this technology.
Anabel Benjamin BaraRepresentative of Indigenae Global Confederation
Several initiatives addressing these challenges were highlighted:
- UNESCO’s Global Roadmap for Multilingualism in the Digital Era, launched in November 2025 following wide consultation with language communities, which seeks to promote inclusive digital development for all languages;
- Partnerships with organizations such as Unicode and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, helping ensure Indigenous Peoples can participate in digital spaces in their own languages;
- And the newly launched New Commons Incubator for Indigenous Languages and Cultures, which supports Indigenous-led initiatives to strengthen data governance and build digital infrastructures reflecting community priorities and values.
The report was followed by interventions from the audience, which highlighted ongoing challenges in language revitalization and transmission, examples of local and community-led revitalization efforts, and calls for sustained funding and stronger partnerships between States, Indigenous Peoples and UN agencies to sustain progress made under the Decade.
This year’s session carried particular significance, as next year will mark not only the midpoint of the Decade but also the twentieth anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The feedback and recommendations gathered will be especially valuable in helping partners take stock of progress and prepare for this important milestone, as well as inform the work of the Global Task Force as the governance mechanism of the Decade. A representative of the Secretariat was also in attendance, reaffirming its commitment to bringing these recommendations forward as part of the Decade’s ongoing work.
READ MORE: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/un-expert-mechanism-advances-dialogue-indigenous-languages?hub=701
