About Horizon Europe – Pillar 2
Horizon Europe (HE) is the EU’s ninth framework programme for research and innovation.
Pillar 2 is a key component of Horizon Europe. Through consortium-based projects, HE – Pillar 2 aims to respond to pressing global challenges within the fields of health, culture and society, climate change, and sustainable technology.
FOSTERLANG(1).png)
Project managers at ILN: Haley de Korne and Åshild Næss.
Duration: 01.01.2025 - 31.12.2027.
About the main project
The project "Fostering Linguistic Capital: A Roadmap for Reversing the Diversity Crisis and Activating Societal Benefits in Europe" (FOSTERLANG) aims to have a transformative effect on how minoritised languages are protected, used and promoted in Europe in the context of the competitive societal dynamic between dominant and non-dominant languages.
This will be achieved by developing evidence-based diagnostics of the minority-language condition and by suggesting strategic and technologically informed initiatives to protect and enhance their socio-economic position.
The project consortium brings the cross-cultural, multidisciplinary expertise of 14 participating organisations in an ambitious partnership of intellectual enquiry on key societal aspects of protecting the EU linguistic diversity.
About ILN's contribution
ILN is involved in several work packages (WPs) throughout the project, but especially in WP3 "Capital Transmission in Local Ecologies – Education, Community Socialisation and Intergenerational Exchange" and WP7 "Effective multilingualism policies".
In WP3 we will focus on how languages are transmitted through education, family life, and community networks.
WP3 explores how educational policies, teacher training, and community practices can help keep languages alive across generations. The team collects best practices from different regions of Europe and develops practical recommendations for multilingual education, teacher support, and family-based language learning.
In WP7 we will take an ecological approach to evaluate and propose improvements to language policies in Europe, construing multilingualism as an asset. The analysis encompasses macro, meso, and micro levels, and includes school-family partnerships from both top-down and bottom-up perspectives.
The focus is on the relationship between language policies and language environment, with an emphasis on linguistic capital, multilingualism and support for minority languages.
Funded by the European Union (HE, Grant Agreement, 101178387). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
MultiLX 
Prosject manager at ILN: Pia Lane
Duration 01.01.2025 - 31.12.2027.
About the main project
The project «Strategies to strengthen European linguistic capital in a globalised world (MultiLX)» will collect and analyse evidence to inform transformation of language policy in Europe.
Increased mobility of people across territories has altered the linguistic make-up of Europe, while rapid developments in AI and other digital technology have revolutionised the way people communicate. However, EU language policy has been slow to respond to the pace of these changes.
We will examine how young people use language in multiple locations in Europe, focusing on their communication in digital, creative and everyday contexts. In this way, we can equip policy makers with comprehensive data on the communication methods and language ideologies of young people in Europe, which is necessary to introduce a language policy that is inclusive, democratic and fair.
About ILN's contribution
ILN is involved in several work packages (WPs) throughout the project, but especially in WP3, with the case study "The Kven Language and Youth in Norway".
During the last decade young people in Norway have shown a strong interest in reclaiming Kven language and culture.
The Kven youth organisation, Kvääninuoret, uses digital arenas such as Instagram to teach and learn Kven language, share artistic work (visual art, poetry and snippets from theatre productions), explore different expressions of Kven identities and connect with other minority and Indigenous groups.
We will investigate how the digital shift has provided an arena for youth to strengthen collective and individual identities, which in turn may bolster language learning. The data drawn on will be Instagram posts, and observations or self-reflection by participants when they create posts.
We will work closely with Kvääninuoret from the outset of the project to ensure that the activities we undertake suit their needs.
Funded by the European Union (HE, Grant Agreement, 101177191). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.