Support for IYL 2008
This is a temporary webpage for gathering information on strategies and methods for supporting the International Year of Languages (IYL). It is intended as a location to collect and display information relating to discussions leading up to, among other things, a more permanent web presence.
UNESCO has a portal page 
with access to diverse information on IYL.
The official launch of IYL was Feb. 21, International Mother Language Day. Another occasion for observance of IYL was World Poetry Day, Mar. 21. A Symposium on Linguistic Rights was held in Geneva on Apr. 24.
Comments? email to: dzosborn at gmail dot com
1. Background of IYL
The year 2008 was declared the IYL by the United Nations General Assembly in a resolution adopted on 16 May 2007. UNESCO is the UN agency responsible for coordinating activities of the IYL.
1.1 The resolution and official announcement
1.2 Other official documents and statements
1.3 Analysis
1.4 Other reference
Can you write a Wikipedia article on IYL for
a language edition that does not yet have one?
2. Activities & projects
2.1 Official
2.2 Public (diverse)
- Online
- Conferences, workshops, and seminars
2.3 Publications
Special issues of journals or magazines on language during IYL 2008:
2.4 Mention in blogs
A page on blogging IYL has links to a number of blogs and sites with mention of IYL. A few mention projects.
2.5 Ongoing
It is recognized that a lot of important work relating to languages is ongoing and not contingent on a special observance. One role of the year can be to highlight that work, and one thing people involved in that work can do is mention the year (see Approaches..., below).
3. Approaches to supporting the IYL
How can organizations and individuals with interest in the goals of IYL best do so? This is the principal focus of this set of webpages. See the Overview of issues.
Some perspectives include:
4. Other "Years"
4.1 UN "Years" for 2008
In addition to IYL, the following have also been designated by the U.N. for this year:
4.2 Other language-related "Years"
4.3 Other thematically-related "Years" for 2008
