We communicate, think, pass along information and knowledge through language. That is why the ability to deal with human language is so essential in all information and communication technologies. The ability to use the Internet and ICTs in the language you comprehend determines inclusion or exclusion from the Knowledge Society. Although there are more than 6000 languages spoken on our planet today, only a dozen or two are flourishing in the digital world with advanced language understanding and spoken language communication technologies. Limitations in the multilingual skills of computers and mobile devices widen the digital gap which excludes hundreds of millions of people from accessing the full benefits of the Internet and digital technologies.

How are state of the art language technologies changing the way we interact in the digital world? How to provide equal access to ICT advancements for all language communities? How to preserve a language from digital extinction? What is the role of language technologies for language vitality in the digital age? What are examples of national and international activities that advance the development and usage of language technologies? These are the key questions that will be discussed by a panel of internationally renowned experts in multilingual technologies.

We will show how policy measures and practical activities on the global, regional and local level are bridging the language divide and fostering a truly multilingual and inclusive Information and Knowledge Society. UNESCO will share its approach for raising global awareness and promoting linguistic and cultural diversity. The European Commission will present its strategy and work on a multilingual infrastructure to ensure equal online opportunities for all 24 official languages of the European Union. The development of the Latvian language in the Internet era will serve as a vivid example of how a small language with only 2 million speakers can successfully strive for the most advanced technological support. We will also present how the research community in cooperation with private sector is working on novel technologies that expand the range of technologically fit languages.

The workshop invites us to forge targeted efforts to equip all language communities with the digital tools to enable their access to information and full participation in the Knowledge Society. Taking a glimpse beyond 2025, we should finally put an end to the language based confusion, exclusion, and discrimination so vividly depicted by the myth of the Tower of Babel. With the power of technologies we can preserve linguistic and cultural diversity while at the same time eliminating language barriers.

This workshop addresses the Vision for WSIS beyond 2015 of “everyone’s right to express themselves and to create and disseminate their work and local content in the language of their choice”.   It is directly related to the Action lines C8 and C3, and has a strong horizontal impact on C4 and C6 as well as several SDGs (4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 16).