UNESCO × Translation Commons · Evento virtual

International Translation Day 2026

Linguistic Diversity and Language Rights: The Power of Being Understood

30SEP 20267–10 am PDT · 4–7 pm CESTEvento celebrado

Sobre el evento

What is the goal of this year’s International Translation Day?

UNESCO and Translation Commons are convening this virtual event in collaboration with Indigenous organizations and community leaders to celebrate International Translation Day (September 30, 2026), with special emphasis on Linguistic Diversity and Language Rights.

This year’s theme, Linguistic Diversity and Language Rights: The Power of Being Understood, is explored within the context of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022–2032), proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 2019. The event brings together linguists, members of the Global Task Force for Making a Decade of Action for Indigenous Languages, artists, activists, interpreters, and more, to foster dialogue on what it truly means to be understood and how translation and interpretation act as a vital bridge protecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples facing structural disadvantage and linguistic marginalization. The event highlights how translation, interpretation, and language access help protect linguistic diversity and support Indigenous language revitalization.

Event program at a glance

Language is not only a tool for communication, it is also a vessel for identity, culture, and belonging. When people cannot access education, justice, healthcare, or political participation in their own language, their fundamental rights are at risk. This event explores the political, social, and technological dimensions of linguistic diversity, centered on one question:

How do translation, interpretation, and language rights ensure the right to be understood for Indigenous communities?

01
Opening Keynote
“Rights, Policy, Social Justice and Language Preservation”
Sets the stage by unpacking what “linguistic diversity” means for Indigenous communities, examining the political and legal frameworks that determine whether language rights flourish or are suppressed, and introducing how AI-assisted tools can help protect and amplify these rights.
02
Theme 1
“Identity, Culture, Human Experience and Language Revitalization”
Foregrounds lived experience through direct community case studies, examining what’s at stake when a language is endangered and how communities sustain, reclaim, and revitalize it, including the challenges of colonial assimilation policies, institutional gaps, and digital exclusion.
03
Theme 2
“Technology, Translation and the Future of Linguistic Diversity”
Looks ahead at how digital tools, AI-assisted translation, and multilingual language technologies can either threaten or sustain linguistic diversity, advocating for “variety-aware” language technologies built to support, not flatten linguistic variation, with a focus on community-controlled, low-resource language technology.
04
Closing Keynote
“When Languages Die, Wisdom Is Lost Forever”
05
Closing Address

Meet the Speakers

This event brings together speakers from Indigenous Peoples Organizations, academia, and other public and private organizations working with Indigenous Peoples and language professionals from around the world.

Ms. Jeannette StewartFounder, Translation Commons (USA)
Mr. Guilherme Canela de Souza GodoiDirector for Division for Digital Inclusion and Policies and Digital Transformation, UNESCO (France)
Dr. Alison RodriguezFormer President, International Federation of Translators (Australia)
Prof. Hanem El-FarahatyProfessor of Linguistics, T&I, University of Leeds (UK)
Dr. Dorothy GordonBoard member, Linux Professional Institute; Former Chair of the IFAP (Ghana, UK)
Dr. Rambhatla Siva PrasadFormer Honorary Professor, CDLTR, and Professor of Anthropology, University of Hyderabad (India)
Dr. Jandhyala Prabhakar RaoFormer Professor of Linguistics, University of Hyderabad (India)
Ms. Mei Lin FungVice Chair, UN AI for Good Impact Steering Committee; Chair, IEEE SSIT Sustainability Committee
$Mr. Tex Texin$ Mr. Tex TexinGlobalization Architect, Board of Directors, Translation Commons (USA)
Mr. Yadaiah G DevKoyathore Bata, Tribe-Koya: Koya a dialect of Gondi (India)
Dr. Hammal Al BulushiSultan Qaboos University (Oman)
Mr. Dhan Man GurungChairperson, The National Council House of Gurung (Nepal)
Prof. Carmen Valero-GarcésProfessor of Translation and Interpreting, Director of FITISPos, University of Alcalá (Spain)
Dr. Xianhong HuProgramme Specialist, UNESCO (France)
Ms. Elin Emilsson IngvarsdóttirUniversidad Pedagógica Nacional, Mexico City (Mexico)
Miss Navya TutejaFounder, Empower InvisAbilities (USA)
Mr. Sjur Nørstebø MoshagenChief Engineer, UiT The Arctic University of Norway (Norway)
Dr. Daniel PimientaOBDILCI (Dominican Republic)
Ms. Verf Lena EgardtUlum Dalska, The Organization for the Preservation of Elfdalian (Sweden)

Contributors

Translation Commons is sincerely grateful to all our behind-the-scenes volunteers, whose skills, time, passion, and generosity brought this event to life. Our speakers generously shared years of experience to shed light on the vital and often overlooked realities of Indigenous languages across the modern world. Our hosts and session moderators kept every conversation grounded and flowing, guiding speakers and audiences alike through the program. Our partners offered the guidance and infrastructure that made this program possible from the very start. We are truly honored to have worked with all of you, thank you for your contributions.

ITD 2026 Event Team →

International Translation Day 2026

What is the goal of this year’s International Translation Day?

Event program at a glance

“Rights, Policy, Social Justice and Language Preservation”

“Identity, Culture, Human Experience and Language Revitalization”

“Technology, Translation and the Future of Linguistic Diversity”

“When Languages Die, Wisdom Is Lost Forever”

Meet the Speakers

Contributors

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