Within the framework of the 2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages, a three-day global conference was held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. The primary objective was to “contribute towards the promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms of all language users to access information and knowledge in languages that are best understood.” The event allowed for productive exchanges between language policy makers and technology providers. It encouraged stakeholders to take concrete steps to further linguistic diversity and strive for multilingualism on the internet as well as in language technologies—steps that are requisite for building and maintaining open, inclusive knowledge societies.

Red T was thrilled to be invited and submit a paper on its Translator/Interpreter Incident database. After all, multilingualism is often achieved through the skills and courage of translators and interpreters (T/Is) in conflict situations, who break down language barriers and connect cultures and nations at the risk of losing life, limb and liberty. However, to drive meaningful policy change for this vulnerable population, i.e., linguists operating in high-risk settings, there is a clear and critical need for robust data. Thus, to augment the Red T database, we called on governmental, intergovernmental and academic bodies to contribute data on linguist persecution, prosecution, imprisonment, abduction, torture and assassination. 

The Red T database paper is accessible at lt4all.org/media/papers or via the LT4All App: https://lt4all.lineupr.com/lt4all