European Day of Languages was held on 26th September 2025 and to mark the day the Office of the Northern Ireland Executive in Brussels (ONIEB) co-hosted an event on ‘Minority Language Regeneration through Lifelong learning and the Arts’, in collaboration with the Scotland Government, Channel Islands, the Welsh Government, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, Norway and Puglia Region of Italy.
The event, which took place on 24 September, included an academic roundtable, where leading experts from a range of minority languages such as Welsh, Scots, Ulster- Scots, Irish, Sámi, Yanito and many more came together to share the challenges they face and exchange innovative strategies in promoting minority language. In the evening, the focus shifted to a panel discussion where the speakers had the opportunity to present their work and insights to a broader audience.
Tony Woods from Jet Pack Learning in Northern Ireland spoke about innovation in his company to enhance education and expand access to learning resources for minority language communities. His contributions highlighted how Jet Pack Learning supports linguistic diversity and empowers educators and learners alike, such as, ‘The Jetpack Learning games authoring platform’ which can now be used to create educational games in virtually any language.
To keep up to date with our events in Brussels, make sure to follow @BrusselsNI on X (Twitter), @Brussels_NI on Instagram and ‘The Office of the Northern Ireland Executive in Brussels’ on LinkedIn