On the 18^th of June, 2025, RISE UP & the Network to Promote Linguistic Diversity (NPLD) collaborated to host a high-level policy roundtable on Bridging the Gap Between Language Policy Planning and Language Policy Making. Held in Vienna, Austria, the event brought together a variety of stakeholders from policy, research and minoritised communities to discuss policy making in the area of minoritised languages based on hands-on experiences.

RISE UP aims to empower minoritised language communities and strengthen the use and transmission of minoritised languages across Europe. To achieve these goals, the involvement of policy stakeholders, on local levels, as well as the European level, is a necessary step. To this end, the project collaborated with NPLD, the Network to Promote Linguistic Diversity, to host a high-level policy roundtable on bridging the gap between language policy planning and language policy making. Six panellists from different parts of Europe and different backgrounds, such as minoritised language community members, policy stakeholders, and researchers, were invited to participate in the discussion. The event was held at the “Sky Lounge” at the University of Vienna, with the additional option to join the discussion online. Members of the audience, both in person and online, were able to contribute their insights and ask questions to the roundtable participants.

The event was kicked off with a welcome speech from RISE UP and NPLD, as well as an online contribution from Anna Solé Mena, RISE UP’s policy officer at the European Commission. Afterwards, Julia Sallabank (SOAS) presented a deep dive into the topic of language policy planning & policy making with her keynote speech “Policy making and implementation on the ground: Insights from RISE UP and related case studies”, featuring concrete examples from three out of RISE UP’s five selected language communities (Aranese, Cornish, Seto).

After a brief coffee break, the main roundtable discussion took place. Moderated by Maarja Veisson (University of Tartu), the panellists Jelske Dijkstra (Mercator European Research Centre – Fryske Akademy), Roger Serra (Director General for Language Policy of the Government of Catalonia), Sabrina Rasom (Director Istitut cultural ladin), Marija Nikolova (Integra Nau and State Advisor), Theresa Grandits (Hrvatske Novine), and Imanol Larrea (Soziolinguistica Klusterra) shared their experiences when working with or experiencing the impacts of policies for minoritised languages. More information on the speakers can be found here. In a vivid discussion, topics such as the importance of long-term community engagement, language teaching, and government funding were raised.

The event was livestreamed and recorded. The recording can be watched here.

Links

RISE UP Project Website: www.riseupproject.eu

Further information on the event: https://www.riseupproject.eu/events/policy-roundtable/

Recording on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5V04tLWHbCM

Keywords

Minority languages, minoritised languages, community members, policy roundtable, policy makers