NPLD General Assembly Held in Stockholm: New Members, Strategic Discussions and Vice-Chair Re-Election

On 7 May 2026, the Network to Promote Linguistic Diversity (NPLD) held itsSteering Committee and the General Assembly at Stockholm University, bringing together representatives of regional and minority language communities, governments, universities and partner organisations from across Europe.

The meetings provided an important opportunity for members to review the Network’sactivities and priorities, exchange experiences on language policy developments, and strengthen European cooperation on the promotion and protection of linguistic diversity.

The NPLD was honoured to welcome three distinguished invited speakers duringthe General Assembly’s open session: Craig Willis, representing the COST Action PLURILINGMEDIA; Céline Geissmann, Director of the Microsoft Open Innovation Center, who presented the LINGUA programme; and Anna Solé, from Unit B.2 Schools and Multilingualism of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (DG EAC).

Their contributions provided valuable perspectives on linguistic diversityin education, media, digital environments and technological innovation, while reinforcing the importance of cooperation between public institutions, academia, civil society and the private sector.

During the General Assembly, members also unanimously approved the incorporationof two new Associate Members into the Network: FIRDA (Fryslân, The Netherlands), the largest vocational education institutionin Fryslân, that works to strengthen the structural presence of Frisian within secondary vocational education and professional training, while promoting multilingualism, language awareness and stronger links between education and the labour market. And Kielilähettiläät ry – Språkambassadörerna / Language Ambassadors (Finland), an innovative organisation promoting bilingualism and Swedish language learning in Finland through school visits, mentoring activities and awareness-raising initiatives. 

The NPLD warmly welcomes both organisations and looks forward to future cooperationand exchanges within the Network.

The Assembly also confirmed the re-election of Mikel Etxebarria (Aurten Bai Foundation) for a further two-year mandate as Vice-Chair of the NPLD. Members expressed their appreciation for his continued commitment and contribution to the governance, financial oversight and strategic development ofthe Network.

During the meetings, members also reviewed the implementation of the NPLD ActionPlan 2026, discussed ongoing advocacy work at European level, and exchanged views on the Network’s participation in a Horizon Europe consortium proposal dedicated to safeguarding linguistic diversity in Europe.