Globalization and languages

As globalization makes the world a smaller place, multilingualism ensures its continued richness and plurality. Our successive attempts to modernize and globalize pose a very real challenge to the preservation of language as a bastion of world culture and heritage. Every language that disappears disrupts the transmission of knowledge and deprives us of an opportunity to learn and connect with our past. In its simplest form language allows for our daily subsistence; in its most complex, it defines our role in and between societies. The world community strives for sustainable development, the alleviation of poverty and world peace. We call upon each other in a multitude of languages to bolster support for the developing world and the courage to face the challenges of our time. The UN University and UNESCO are pleased to invite you to the 2008 international conference on Globalization and Languages: Building on Our Rich Heritage.