A new European research network, Language Plurality in Europe’s Changing Media Sphere (PLURILINGMEDIA), has been established to address challenges and opportunities related to linguistic diversity in media. Funded by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST Association), the initiative brings together scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to foster collaboration, knowledge sharing, and innovation in this area. Jakob Volgger from the Center for Autonomy Experience represents Italy on the Management Committee and serves as Website Development Coordinator as part of the core group.
Protecting Europe’s rich linguistic diversity and promoting multilingualism are longstanding goals of the European Union and the Council of Europe. However, the increasing dominance of larger languages, compounded by global competition and shifting media consumption patterns, poses a growing threat to smaller languages, especially in regional and minority language contexts.
PLURILINGMEDIA aims to respond to these challenges by promoting collaboration across disciplines and sectors. It seeks to bridge gaps in knowledge transfer between academic fields, career stages, geographic regions, and the media industry. A key focus will be on supporting regional and minority language media by sharing best practices, with particular attention to leveraging the benefits of digitalisation.
The COST Action is organised around four thematic working groups: Audience and Content-Creator Habits, Legislation and Standards, Language Vitality, Journalism.
PLURILINGMEDIA held its inaugural meeting in October in Brussels and is coordinated by the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) in Flensborg/Flensburg, Germany.
More about the Action and how to apply for one of the working groups here.