Financial contribution of the municipality of Leeuwarden for the Mercator Research Centre

The Mercator European Research Centre for Multilingualism and Language learning receives 50.000 Euros from the municipality of Leeuwarden. The contribution is intended for the further development of the Mercator Research Centre into a European Agency for Linguistic Diversity and Language Learning in the knowledge city of Leeuwarden.

Within the City Covenant of Leeuwarden and the Berenschot plans the municipality of Leeuwarden and the Province of Fryslân on the one hand, and the Frisian institutes for higher education and the Fryske Akademy on the other, have made an agreement regarding the development of ‘Leeuwarden, fier verder!’ (‘Leeuwarden, forward with pride!’) with 5 relevant pillars, including ‘Time for beauty’, “Cure and Care’, and ‘Knowledge city’. The theme ‘multilingualism’, for which the Mercator Research Centre of the Fryske Akademy is responsible, is part of the pillar ‘knowledge city’. The contribution of the municipality of Leeuwarden for 2008 can be changed into structural funding as part of ‘Leeuwarden, fier verder!’ for 2009-2013.

The aid of the municipality of Leeuwarden and the Province of Fryslân is important support for the acquisition of European funding for projects that the Mercator Research Centre wants to develop in Fryslân and other areas, such as a European Language Agency of international stature.

Database of Experts

Already 300 Experts subscribed the Database of Experts! The Mercator Research Centre is still in search of more Experts. This database creates an easy and quick access to all expertise in the field of European minority languages and it facilitates contacts and cooperation amongst colleagues in this domain. In the mean time 300 experts in the field of European minority languages, bilingualism and multilingualism, language learning, education and language policy subscribed.

Network of Schools

The Network of Schools' mission is to create a platform for multilingual schools in minority regions within the European Union in order to facilitate the exchange of information and experiences.

Endangered Languages

The work on Endangered Languages (Phonetics and Ethnolinguistics) at the Fryske Akademy and the Mercator Research Centre is focused on the study of language contrasts, language contact and language change. We investigate the phonetic aspects of languages and dialects of minority and regional languages, in particular those of the Russian Federation and neighbouring countries. This work is supported by grants from the Dutch Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), the Organisation INTAS of the European Union, the British Library, Japanese Foundations and Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd.

Regional Dossiers

The Regional Dossiers describe the position of lesser-used languages in education, give information on national and regional education systems and include the latest statistics regarding lesser-used languages in education in the European Union.