Director of the Center of Adyghe Culture of KBSU took part in the International High-Level Conference
July 5–7, 2022 Director of the Adyghe Culture Center named after A. A.A. Tsipinov Kabardino-Balkarian State University named after H.M. Berbekov Ph.D. Madina Ezaova took part in the High-Level International Conference “The World Treasury of Native Languages: Protect and Cherish. Context, policy and practice of preserving indigenous languages” (Moscow).
Organized by the Federal Agency for Nationalities Affairs, the Russian Committee of the UNESCO Information for All Program and the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation as part of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages in the Russian Federation in 2022–2032, the conference brought together international experts from more than 50 countries representing all geographic regions of the world, has become one of the key events in the field of national policy in Russia.
Representatives of Armenia, Belarus, Brazil, Vietnam, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Cameroon, Mexico, Mozambique, Kyrgyzstan, Syria, Central African Republic, South Africa, as well as experts from different regions of Russia took personal part in the program. At the opening ceremony, in a welcoming speech addressed to the delegates, Igor Barinov, Head of the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs and Chairman of the National Organizing Committee for the preparation and holding of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages in the Russian Federation in 2022-2032, emphasized: I am sure that our high-level conference, which will be held on a systematic basis every two years, will become one of the main venues for the Decade, where recognized international experts from all continents will meet and make decisions that contribute to the preservation and development of the languages of the peoples of the world. Among the guests of honor, the conference was also attended by: Deputy Chairman of the Intergovernmental Council of the UNESCO IFAP Program Evgeny Kuzmin, Deputy Head of the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs Stanislav Bedkin, Head of the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation Yevgeny Primakov, Chairman of the Committee on Nationalities Affairs of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Gennady Semigin, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for International Cultural Cooperation Mikhail Shvydkoy, Governor of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug — Yugra Natalia Komarova. Speaking on behalf of the State Duma Committee on Nationalities, Gennady Semigin noted that today interethnic relations have entered the top three most important issues on the agenda in the country.
Their level and stability are a serious foundation on which Russia stands and develops. In Russia, it is not forbidden to use any language (as is done today in some countries of the world with respect to the Russian language), there is no language discrimination. That is why 277 languages and dialects are used in the Russian Federation. Only in the state education system there are more than a hundred languages, children are taught in 24 languages, more than 70 languages are the subject of study. More than 2 million children study their native language at school, the parliamentarian said. At the end of his speech, Gennady Semigin emphasized that Russia today is a leader in terms of the level and stability of interethnic relations, observance of the linguistic rights of citizens, and therefore this colossal experience needs to be more actively promoted, widely presented to foreign partners successes and achievements in the work to preserve and develop linguistic diversity in our country.
In 12 plenary sessions, 80 speakers presented their countries’ experiences on issues such as multilingualism in the modern world; language policy (approaches and goals); languages in cyberspace and access to information; intercultural communication in the real and digital world; the role of organizations and public initiatives in the preservation of indigenous languages; languages in education; multilingualism in Russia; the Russian language and its role in the world at all times; multilingualism and development in the context of globalization.
Unique practices and solutions formed as a result of the conference will be included in the guidelines for all peoples of the world on their preservation and development. Sharing her impressions of participating in the conference, Madina Ezaova said: High-level international conference “The World Treasury of Native Languages: Protect and Cherish. Context, policy and practice of preserving the languages of indigenous peoples” provided an opportunity to discuss issues of linguistic diversity, to delve deeper into the problems of studying and preserving the languages of all nationalities, including minority peoples.