The event, organised by the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) and the Basque language industry cluster LANGUNE, was a venue that brought together representatives from politics, academia, industry and minority regions. Its main focus was on the opportunities and challenges of digitalisation for minority languages, particularly through the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
Linguistic diversity and technological innovation
With inspiring examples from the Basque Country, Catalonia and Galicia, the forum showed how investment in language technologies can bring both cultural and economic benefits. The Basque Country in particular, the host region of the forum, demonstrated through its strategic promotion of AI and language solutions that linguistic diversity and economic innovation are not mutually exclusive. Basque President Imanol Pradales Gil emphasised the importance of equal rights for all languages: "There is no first or second class language."
Tailoring AI for Small Languages
In his talk, Samuel illustrated how AI can be optimised for smaller languages such as Ladin. The customisation of AI systems and understanding linguistic diversity are particularly important for minority languages. The research project ‘Machine translation for the Ladin language’ is working on solutions that aim to promote and preserve all variants of Ladin.
Artificial intelligence as a trailblazer
With over 200 participants, the 8th Forum of European Minority Regions was a success. It demonstrated that digitalisation and AI should not be seen as a threat, but as an opportunity for the promotion of minority languages. The event helped to raise awareness of the cultural and economic importance of linguistic diversity and highlighted concrete ways in which regional identities can be further developed and promoted in the digital world. The discussions emphasised that the development of AI technologies should be actively used to open up new potential for the preservation and promotion of minority languages