Interventions: Editorial introduction

Abstract

A wave of increased support for multilingualism is now tangible across Europe and further afield. This takes many forms, and in this issue of the journal, we are happy to include two contributions. The first is a report on the working group on “Languages and science”, formed within the Conseil européen pour les langues/ European Language Council. The round table organised in Geneva in August 2017 worked on developing a broader project, set within the general question: “How and in what conditions is plurilingualism an advantage (an added value) for the construction of new knowledge?” We publish here an early statement of its aims. The second contribution is a campaigning statement from a group of specialists meeting in December 2017 under the auspices of the Salzburg Global Summit. It promotes a multilingual world, advocating an inclusive society that recognises the intrinsic value of languages and does not discriminate against speakers on the basis of their language repertoires. We are aware that numerous initiatives are under way across Europe in the area of languages and we shall hope to report more fully on them in future issues of the journal.