Catalonia's New Language Pact Sets Roadmap for Catalan's Future

The Government of Catalonia and representatives from the political and social world of the country signed, on May 13, the National Pact for the Catalan Language at the Institute of Catalan Studies, an ambitious language plan aiming for 600,000 new speakers by 2030. The final text is the result of intensive and collaborative work involving parliamentary groups, with strong citizen participation and contributions from numerous experts and social, cultural, and economic agents

 

 

The National Pact is based on a diagnosis that addresses the underlying factors affecting the situation facing the Catalan language and sets ambitious yet realistic objectives, aimed at the effective improvement of the knowledge and social use of the language. The measures outlined avoid symbolic approaches and are applicable and assessable. The Pact also involves a commitment to action from signatories until 2030 and aims to attract new signatories from institutions, organisations, companies and groups that share the principles of the Pact and wish to work in the same direction.

 

The Pact sets the year 2030 as the strategic horizon to achieve its objectives and is structured into 9 work horizons and 21 areas of action that cover all contexts of contemporary life: from education and university to the labour market, including health, culture, technology and social cohesion, among others. These proposals will be progressively implemented and reviewed year by year. To safeguard resources, the Pact establishes a minimum annual budgetary commitment of 200 million euros for the language policy of the entire Government of Catalonia.

 

Within the procedural framework of the 9 horizons, the Pact activates a first package of immediate actions for 2025, with an initial budget of more than 255 million euros, the highest amount ever allocated to language policy in Catalonia, and a cross-cutting action from all Government ministries. As a result, various initiatives will be taking place in 2025. 

 

In the words of Minister Vila: “Today we are agreeing on a national contract: a commitment that should govern language policy beyond terms of office and positions. The National Pact for the Catalan Language creates a framework that allows us to work with a time frame and with concrete measures from day one.”