The universities of the Vives Network define the focus of the university language policy for 2025
The Language Committee of the Xarxa Vives d’Universitats (Vives Network of Universities) presented a set of indicators to measure the impact of the universities' language plans.
The Joan Plaça Auditorium of the University of Valencia hosted the two-day forum "Objectius 2025 de Política Lingüística Universitària" (2025 Objectives of University Language Policy) organised by the Vives Network of Universities. Representatives of the Universitat de Valencia (UV), such as the Vice-Rector for Studies and Language Policy, Isabel Vázquez, and the Director of the Languages Service, Rafael Castelló, and representatives from 18 universities in the Valencian Community, Catalonia, Andorra and the Balearic Islands took part in the meeting, which focused on analysing the 2025 agenda for university language policy.
The Fòrum Vives, dedicated to university language policy was welcomed by Maria Vicenta Mestre, Rector of the UV. Then, Robert Phillipson, professor emeritus of the Department of International Language Studies and Computational Linguistics at Copenhagen Business School gave a presentation about the challenges of multilingualism in higher education. To close the first day of the meeting, Avel·lí Flors-Mas, lecturer at the Department of Catalan Philology and General Linguistics and the CUSC-Centre for Research in Sociolinguistics and Communication of the University of Barcelona (UB), presented Política Lingüística Universitària. Un estat de la qüestió des de la perspectiva de la llengua catalana (University Language Policy. A status of the issue from the perspective of Catalan language).
The second day of the forum began with the round table Política lingüística i política acadèmica, un diàleg necessary (Language policy and academic policy, a necessary dialogue), with the participation of Miquel Nicolau, Rector of the Universitat d’Andorra; Pilar Safont, Vice-Rector for Linguistic Promotion and Equality of the Universitat Jaume I; Imma Ribas, Vice-Rector for Quality and Language Policy of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya; Francesc Xavier Vila, Secretary for Language Policy of the Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan government) and Francisco José Torres, Vice-Rector for Studies, Quality and Languages of the University of Alacant. The discussion was followed by the session La regulació de la política lingüística universitària i els vasos comunicants amb les regulacions regionals i estatals (University language policy and the relation with regional and state regulations) with the participation of Vicenta Tasa, Director of the Chair for Linguistic Rights of the UV; Jordi Matas, Vice-Rector for Institutional Relations, Communication and Language Policy of the UB; Rafael Castelló, Director of the Languages Service of the UV; and Rosa Calafat, Coordinator of Language Policy of the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB).
In the last part of the forum, Jordi de Bofarull, Head of the Catalan Language Area in the Universitat Rovira i Virgili and Secretary of the Networks' Language Committee; Esteve Valls, Deputy Director of the Department of Applied Linguistics in the Universitat Internacional de Catalunya and Avel·lí Flors-Mas, from the Department of Catalan Philology and General Linguistics and the CUSC-Centre for Research in Sociolinguistics and Communication of the UB, presented the proposal of indicators for the university language policy of the Vives Network of Universities. The meeting concluded with speeches by Rubén Trenzano, Director General of Language Policy and Multilingualism Management of the Generalitat Valenciana (Valencian government), and Jaume Carot, President of the Vives Network of Universities and Rector of the UIB.
In his closing speech, the President of the Vives Network, Jaume Carot, highlighted: "This Fòrum Vives has laid the foundations for university language policy in the coming years". He emphasised the value of the indicators agreed in the framework of the Fòrum Vives since "they must be a reference for the promotion and evaluation of the language plans of the universities. Fair and balanced actions can only be developed with objective data in a diverse, complex and constantly changing context such as the Vives region".
Carot also recognised "the work that the Language Committee of the Vives Network has been carrying out for more than 20 years as the only institution in a linguistic territory made up of 4 states with an own common language policy for its universities. The Vives Network is, in this sense, a key institution in the promotion of Catalan for its ability to hatch common strategies from diversity".
The Fòrum Vives is a space for exchange and reflection promoted by the Vives Network with conferences, debates, seminars, workshops and congresses held throughout the territory.
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