UNU/UNESCO International Conference:
Globalization 2008
Programme for Day 1
August 27 · U Thant Hall, UNU Headquarters, Tokyo
Master of Ceremonies
Obijiofor Aginam, Academic Programme Officer, UNU
(Japanese, English and French simultaneous interpretation is available all day on 27 August.)
9:30-10:15
Opening Session
Shintaro Ito, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan (MoFA)
Ito (40 KB PDF)
Hirokazu Matsuno, Senior Vice-Minsiter, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan (MEXT)
Matsuno (60 KB PDF; JP)
Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General, UNESCO
Matsuura (216 KB PDF; FR, EN)
Konrad Osterwalder, Rector, United Nations University
Osterwalder (104 KB PDF; EN)
10:15-11:30 · Coffee Break
10:30-12:30
Languages and Globalization: What is at stake?
Co-Chairs: Konrad Osterwalder, Rector, UNU and Hans D’Orville, Assistant Director-General for Strategic Planning, UNESCO
Keynote speakers will present an overview of the importance of safeguarding languages in view of their critical role in attaining the internationlly agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and in promoting cultural diversity and the dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples. A brief Q&A period will follow the presentations.
Education for All in the Language of their Cultural Heritage
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, Former President, Republic of Iceland, and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Languages
Vigdís (60 KB PDF)
Vigdís (Presentation: 868 KB PDF)
Languages and Globalization: Time for Action
Olabiyi Babalola Joseph Yaï, Chairman of UNESCO’s Executive Board; Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Benin to UNESCO
Yaï (172 KB PDF; EN)
Yaï (304 KB PDF; FR)
Yaï (396 KB PDF; JP)
Language Rights: Linking the Local and the Global
Stephen May, Professor and Chair of Language and Literacy Education, University of Waikato, New Zealand
May (88 KB PDF)
May (Presentation: 656 KB PDF)
Building shared knowledge with our languages in a globalizing world
Adama Samassékou, Executive Secretary ad int. of the African Academy of Lanuguages (ACALAN) and President of Maaya Network
Samassékou (596 KB PDF)
12:30-12:45 · Group photograph
(Keynote speakers, chairs, panelists & moderators)
12:45-13:45 · Lunch Break
13:45-18:30
Panel Discussions
Four panel discussions will be held (the fourth on the morning of the following day) on some of the strategic areas that are important in providing support to the safeguarding and promotion of linguistic diversity, especially indigenous, minority and endangered languages.
13:45-15:00
SESSION 1
Multilingualism, Translation, Communication and Literacy
Moderator: Marcel Diki-Kidiri, Senior Researcher, National Centre for Linguistic Research, CNRS, France
But Having Small Houses Spreads HIV - Problems of Language and Communication in Health Services in Sub-Saharan Africa
Gregory Kamwendo, Associate Professor of Language Education and Head of the Department of Languages and Social Sciences Education, University of Botswana
Kamwendo (88 KB PDF)
Measuring Linguistic Diversity on the Internet
Yoshiki Mikami, Professor of Management and Information Systems Engineering and Coordinator of the Language Observatory Project, Nagaoka University of Technology
Mikami (64 KB PDF)
Mikami (Presentation: 928 KB PDF)
My Two Endangered Languages — Japanese and Alaskan Yupik
Osahito Miyaoka, Professor of Linguistics, Osaka Gakuin University
Miyaoka (88 KB PDF)
We regret to announce that Professor Miyaoka cannot attend the conference. However, his presentation will still be delivered by the moderator.
15:00-15:15 · Coffee Break
15:15-16:45
SESSION 2
Education and Learning
Moderator: Ana Luiza Machado, Deputy Assistant Director-General for Education, UNESCO
The Nexus Between Education, Learning and Language
Paulin Goupognon Djité, Associate Professor of Sociolinguistics, Translation and Interpreting, School of Humanities and Languages, University of Western Sydney
Djité (188 KB PDF)
Djité (Presentation: 80 KB PDF)
Multilingual Education for Indigenous Children: Escaping the Vicious Cycle of Language Disadvantage in India
Ajit Mohanty, Professor of Psychology and Chairperson, Zakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
Mohanty (220 KB PDF)
Mohanty (Presentation: 2.3 MB PDF)
The Right to Education and Language Proficiency
Gabriele Mazza, Director for School, Out-of-School, Higher Education and Languages, Council of Europe
Mazza (72 KB PDF)
Contesting the Default: The Impact of Local Language Choice for Learning
Barbara Trudell, Africa Area Academic Director, SIL International, Kenya
Trudell (120 KB PDF)
Trudell (Presentation: 2.7 MB PDF)
Multilinguality, Language and ‘a language’: Implications for Education
Rama Kant Agnihotri, Professor of Linguistics, University of Delhi
Agnihotri (100 KB PDF)
16:45-17:00 · Coffee Break
17:00-18:30
SESSION 3
Safeguarding Endangered Languages
Moderator and Panelist: Herman Batibo, Professor of African Linguistics, University of Botswana
Reversing Attitudes as a Key to Language Preservation and Safeguarding in Africa
Herman Batibo, Professor of African Linguistics, University of Botswana
Batibo (156 KB PDF)
Naming and Renaming in the Process of Safeguarding Endangered Languages: The Case of Jakaltek Maya Language (Guatemala)
Victor Montejo, Professor, Department of Native American Studies, University of California, Davis
Montejo (160 KB PDF)
Montejo (Presentation: 2.3 MB PDF)
A Balancing Act: Community Interests and Language Documentation
Anthony Jukes, Research Associate, Endangered Languages Academic Programme, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), United Kingdom
Jukes (2.6 MB PDF)
Jukes (Presentation: 1.2 MB PDF)
Is it Globalization that Endangers Languages?
Nicholas Ostler, Chairman, Foundation for Endangered Languages, United Kingdom
Ostler (80 KB PDF)
Safeguarding Endangered Languages Vanuatu - A case-study
Hannah Vari-Bogiri, Lecturer, School of Languages and Media, University of the South Pacific
18:45 · Reception
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