The Republic of Moldova will learn from the experience of the OSCE member states in promoting linguistic diversity. An international conference entitled “Multilingual education in the OSCE region: good practices and perspectives for the Republic of Moldova” that was held in Chisinau brought together experts from most of the OSCE states, IPN reports.
In the opening of the event, Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova Lajos Karakas said the language is an essential element of the identity of a person or a community and the languages of all the minorities can be learned through the agency of an education system that promotes linguistic diversity. “We, as a mission have the wish, necessity and obligation to promote the aspects of tolerance in a democratic society, including through the education, training system,” stated Lajos Karakas.
The OSCE Mission will further support the Republic of Moldova to promote balanced policies on ethnic diversity. “The OSCE is ready to assist in training teaching staff. Everyone should be ensured access to the education system, regardless of ethnicity, by applying this multilingual training,” noted Lajos Karakas.
Director of the Office of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Christophe Kamp said the states are encouraged, on the one hand, to accentuate the learning of the official language and, on the other hand, to promote the studying of other languages in the regions of ethnic communities in a balanced way. “The right of the person that belongs to an ethnic minority can be realized only if correct studying of the national language is ensured at the necessary level, if this assumes responsibility for appropriately studying the language of the state in which this coexists,” stated Christophe Kamp.
According to the official, to promote linguistic diversity, the education policies should be integrationist, comprehensive and should offer opportunities to everyone. “There is no general recommendation that would be applied to all the OSCE member states. It depends on the local context. Overall responsibility for supporting this integrative tendency in society is always the direct responsibility of the state,” added Christophe Kamp.
In her message, Minister of Education, Culture and Research Monica Babuc said the promotion of multilingual education is one of the priorities of the institution she manages. The creation of conditions for the representatives of ethnic minorities to study the official language and the protection and development of the languages of the coexisting ethnic groups are key elements for the integration of national minorities in Moldovan society.
The event is a platform for interaction and exchange of experience on good multilingual education practices in the Republic of Moldova and in other states, such as Italy, Estonia, Spain, the Netherlands, Northern Macedonia, and Georgia.
