Hello

Why
Language Matters
for the Millennium Development Goals
Selamat
Siang

Salaam

Cho

Mabuhay

Hola

Published by UNESCO Bangkok

Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education
Mom Luang Pin Malakul Centenary Building
920 Sukhumvit Road, Prakanong, Klongtoey
Bangkok 10110, Thailand

UNESCO 2012
All rights reserved

ISBN 978-92-9223-386-0 (Print version)

ISBN 978-92-9223-387-7 (Electronic version)

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Copy-editing: Ellie Meleisea

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Contents
Acknowledgments ........................................................................................... iv
Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1

Goal 1: Eradicate Poverty and Hunger .......................................3

Why language is important .............................................................. 4
Policy and practice ............................................................................. 4
Language and development: Some tools and approaches ........... 8

Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education .........................11

Why language is important ........................................................... 12
Policy and practice ........................................................................... 14

Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women .....19

Why language is important ............................................................ 20
Policy and practice ........................................................................... 21

Goals 4 Reduce Child Mortality and Improve Maternal

and 5: Health .............................................................................25
Why language is important ............................................................ 26
Policy and practice ........................................................................... 26

Goal 6: Combat HIV and AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases ..31
Why language is important ........................................................... 32
Policy and practice ........................................................................... 33

Goal 7: Ensure Sustainable Development ..............................37

Why language is important ........................................................... 38
Policy and practice ........................................................................... 40

Goal 8: Foster Global Partnerships for Development ............43

Why language is important ........................................................... 44
Policy and Practice........................................................................... 44

Acknowledgments
This booklet was written by Sandy Barron for the Multilingual Education
Working Group (MLE WG) based at the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Bangkok. Members of
the MLE Working Group include representatives from UNESCO Bangkok;
the United Nations Children's Fund - East Asia and the Pacific Regional
Office (UNICEF-EAPRO); the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education
Organization (SEAMEO); SIL International; Save the Children (SC); CARE
International; the Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia
(RILCA) at Mahidol University; the ASEAN Regional Center of Excellence
on Millennium Development Goals (ARCMDG) at the Asian Institute of
Technology (AIT); the Royal Institute of Thailand; and the Asia South
Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education (ASPBAE).

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

This publication draws and expands upon ideas and presentations

from the International Conference on Language, Education and the
Millennium Development Goals. More than 400 delegates from some 30
countries attended the conference, which was held in Bangkok, Thailand,
in November 2010.

iv

Special thanks are extended to all those who contributed to the

development of the text of this booklet, including Vanessa Achilles,
Joel Bacha, Carol Benson, Hameed A. Hakeem, Maki Hayashikawa,
Kimmo Kosonen, Sena Lee, Jan Noorlander, Justine Sass, Sheldon Shaeffer
and Catherine Young, as well as to the conference coordinator Kyungah
Kristy Bang and to the conference participants whose presentations are
the basis for many of the case studies in the booklet.

Introduction
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are a set of shared aspirations
and efforts to make the world a more equitable and sustainable place. At
the heart of the goals is the recognition that for this global initiative to be
effective, all people need to be included.
Language is the key to inclusion. Language is at the center of human
activity, self-expression and identity. Recognizing the primary importance
that people place on their own language fosters the kind of true
participation in development that achieves lasting results.
In 2010, this insight brought together hundreds of educators, development
workers, linguists, government workers and civil society delegates at a
conference in Bangkok.1 Convinced that language is a vital tool for the
achievement of the MDGs, they reported on the many ways in which
initiatives that promote local languages are making a real difference to
peoples lives across Asia and beyond.

As well as pointing to successes, the conference revealed many

challenges and gaps in current understanding of the role of language in
development and education. Thus, the Bangkok forum represented an
early contribution to an emerging and exciting field that has the potential
to contribute much more to the MDGs. It is hoped that the conference
and this publication, which includes and expands upon many of its
themes and findings, will help spur more thought and action on the
challenging work ahead.

The conference Language, Education and the Millennium Development Goals was held
in Bangkok, Thailand, from 9 to 11 November 2010. It was sponsored by the consortium of
organizations that are represented in the Asia Multilingual Education Working Group (MLE WG).

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

The conference showcased, in particular, impressive evidence for how

early education in the mother tongue improves the lives of children and
their communities. Participants also reported that recognizing the role
of languages is highly significant for work on all of the MDGs, including
tackling poverty, gender inequality, HIV and AIDS and maternal and child
health.

UNESCO/S. Chaiyasook

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

Goal 1:
Eradicate
Poverty and
Hunger

orldwide, joint efforts under the eight Millennium Development

Goals are making an impact on levels of global poverty and hunger.
Yet huge challenges remain.
Around a quarter of the worlds population lives in extreme poverty.
Ethnic minority groups speaking minority languages are disproportionately
represented among the worlds poor and marginalized. As progress is
made in lifting other groups out of poverty, minorities are in danger of
being left even further behind.

Why language is important

Peoples languages are vitally important to them. Through language,
people communicate, share meaning and experience their sense of
individual and community identity. Loss of language and culture is
frequently accompanied by large human and social costs, including
poverty, poor health, drug and alcohol abuse, family violence and suicide.2
Recognizing the profound importance that people place on their
languages is a core insight for tackling poverty and hunger. It is an
important part of the move away from top down models of development
that have been shown not to work, and towards participatory
development models, which often do. Properly conducted participatory
development brings improved outcomes both in the short- and longterm. According to one study, development initiatives that sought
beneficiaries involvement achieved 68 percent success, while those that
did not achieved a success rate of just 10 percent.3
Genuine participation obviously relies on a two-way communication,
which means engaging with the languages people actually speak. This
requires consideration and planning at the levels of both policy and
practice.

Policy and practice

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

Policy

Policy makers who understand the vital role of languages help to create
better development planning. They are aware that focusing on languages
has obvious beneficial results for communications and participation
targets. They know that opportunities may be lost when the role of
language is forgotten.

Romaine, S. 2010. Language and the MDGs. International Conference on Language, Education
and the MDGs, 9-11 November 2010, Bangkok, Thailand. SEAMEO. http://www.seameo.org/
LanguageMDGConference2010/doc/presentations/day1/SuzanneRomaine-keynote.pdf
(Accessed 10 June 2011).
Mitchell, P, 2009. Remarks (citing Dollar, D. and Pritchett, L. 1998. Assessing Aid: What Works, What
Doesnt, and Why. World Bank Research Report. Oxford University Press). George Washington
University Forum on Health Communication.

 UNESCO/S. Chaiyasook

In 2005, a key study looked at how national poverty reduction strategies

deploy communications.4 It recommended that poverty reduction plans
should include a strong emphasis on engaging with local languages. The
authors noted that, Language has a very influential role in fostering
the process of an informed public dialog and debate.

Some countries are moving towards more recognition of the language

issue at policy level, however. The recent poverty reduction strategy
paper of Bangladesh, for example, recognizes the importance of mother
tongue languages for minority peoples (Adivasi). There is still a long way
to go in implementing that recognition, but an important step has been
taken.5
4

Mozammel, M. and Odugbemi, S. (eds.). 2005. With the Support of Multitudes, Using Strategic
Communication to fight Poverty through PRSPs, Jointly published by the Information and
Communication for Development, United Kingdom Department for International Development,
and the Development Communication Division, External Affairs, The World Bank. p. 26. http://
siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTDEVCOMMENG/Resources/withthesupportofmultitude-screen.
pdf (Accessed 26 November 2011).
Durnian, T. 2007. Mother Language First. Save the Children, Bangladesh.

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

Language is still rarely explicitly articulated in key international and

national poverty reduction documents, or in communications planning.
This means insufficient attention is given to the unique situations of
ethnolinguistic minorities and the particular problems they face in being
included in development processes.

 UNESCO/S. Chaiyasook

Practice

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

Around the world, at any given time, countless initiatives tackling poverty
and hunger are engaging with people in the local languages with which
they are most familiar. However, most of this language engagement
happens at an informal level. Project experiences using local languages,
including successes and failures, are as yet rarely documented.

Initiatives that have placed a strong emphasis on articulating language

as a central aspect of their development-related goals often report very
positive results. In South-East Asia, for example, two small-scale projects
have prioritized language within a context of community strengthening
and tackling poverty and exclusion, as described below.

Thailand: Sharing language and culture helps mountain peoples6

Indigenous and ethnic minorities suffer from significant poverty and
marginalization in many countries. The Inter Mountain Peoples Education and
Culture in Thailand (IMPECT) organization, based in the province of Chiang Mai,
has led a variety of initiatives to strengthen local ethnic minority communities.
Among these are initiatives in which ethnic communities have articulated
and documented in their local languages key information on their beliefs and
customs. The information has been shared with Thai education officials at the
district, provincial and national levels. One reported result of such sharing is
greater flexibility in local education curricula, with more emphasis placed on
indigenous culture, knowledge and language. This contribution to community
strengthening is an important element in the work of local minority groups as
they seek sustainable solutions to the challenges they face in terms of cultural
survival, development and livelihoods.

A project working to improve the situation of the Kol and Koda minority people
in Bangladesh found that the communities were losing engagement with
their mother tongue but were also not proficient in the dominant language,
Bangla. This placed them at multiple disadvantages. Thus, a joint project of SIL
Bangladesh and Food for the Hungry placed importance on strengthening
the mother tongue, while also focusing on enabling the communities to take
ownership of the development process through participation. The project
has engaged with a wide range of local ideas about language and language
choices, while maintaining an emphasis on the importance of the mother
tongue. To strengthen the local languages, the initiative has worked on
developing local writing systems. It continues to work in the local languages
to develop community institutions to bolster self-reliance, savings, skills
development and advocacy for rights.
67

Asian Development Bank. 2001. Health and Education Needs of Ethnic Minorities in the Greater
Mekong Subregion, Manila, ADB. http://www.adb.org/Documents/Studies/Health_Education_
GMS/default.asp. (Accessed 10 June 2011).
Tudu, C. and Saleh Uddin, MD. 2010. Uncovering the Silent Resources for Sustainable
Development. International Conference on Language, Education and the MDGs, 9-11 November
2010, Bangkok, Thailand. SEAMEO. http://www.seameo.org/LanguageMDGConference2010/
doc/presentations/day2/CorneliusTudu-Md.Uddin-ppt.pdf, (Accessed 10 June 2011).

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

Bangladesh: Strengthening local languages bolsters communities7

Language and development: Some tools and

approaches
Various tools and methods focusing on languages have been shown to
contribute to the success of development initiatives. These include:

Program planning/early stage: Awareness of language issues

from the beginning pays off

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

y Conducting linguistic surveys: In linguistically diverse areas, effective

communications for development planning includes conducting a
language audit or a sociolinguistic survey of the partner population.
Such research reveals which languages people speak in different domains
of life and the level of comfort speakers have in different situations. It
can also reveal gaps in mutual understanding of key concepts and
ideas that need to be addressed for smooth communication. The
involvement of community members in the surveys can also be the
start of the participatory process.

y Strengthening participation of local actors in research: Language

research has primarily been the domain of outsiders, such as linguists
and ethnographers. Yet experts have pointed out that for a deep
understanding of the meaning and application of various oral forms in
a given community (e.g. idioms, proverbs, myths, legends, songs and
poetry), high-level inclusion of different local actors in language research
and analysis is often necessary. Local actors understand and can share
insights into the politics, economic activities, social organization and
cultural values of a locality,8 all of which are important for achieving
strong partnerships and the desired results.
y Including a focus on intercultural communications: Staff working in
linguistically and culturally diverse settings, who are aware of key ideas
around intercultural communications and cultural competence, are
better equipped to foster participatory development.9 Skills involved in
the work of bridging different cultures include knowing the language,
listening, finding ways to match and align key concepts where
appropriate, and communicating respectfully and effectively.
8
9

Kitula, K. 2000, Language in Development Research in 21st Century Africa. African Studies
Quarterly, Vol. 3, No. 3. http://www.africa.ufl.edu/asq/v3/v3i3a3.pdf (Accessed 10 June, 2011).
Policy and practice around cultural competence have been developed mainly within the field of
health, but its key principles are also useful for work in other fields.

Implementation stage: acting on awareness of language

issues
y Sharing information through printed materials: Project information
and key messages produced in local languages help ensure that
minority people are informed and are enabled to enter into discussions,
ask questions and make suggestions.
y Employing creative channels of information: Communication
vehicles such as radio, video and theater allow important health and
other development messages to reach illiterate populations. Local
radio produced in local languages has been shown to be a powerful
and growing means of disseminating information and garnering
participation, discussion and debate among audiences.
y Identifying the right sources for sending information: When people
are receiving and reviewing new information, they must be able to
identify with the information source. Generally, the more similar the
source is to the audience in terms of language, values, personality and
social characteristics, the more likely it is that the audience will perceive
the source as trustworthy and heed the message.10 Including local
language speakers in key project positions supports this process.

y Language as a measure of effectiveness: Including language indicators

can help measure the value of development initiatives. For example,
one development organization now includes linguistic impact in its
assessments of the effectiveness of local radio stations in the United
Kingdom.11

10 Colle, R. D. 2007. Advocacy and Interventions, Readings in Communications and Development,

Ithaca, New York: The Internet-First University Press. p. 180, (citing Rogers 1973).
11 Department for International Development. 2005. Monitoring and Evaluating Information and
Communication for Development (C4D) Programmes Guidelines, United Kingdom. http://www.
oecd.org/dataoecd/35/2/46388330.pdf (Accessed 10 June 2011).

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

Monitoring stage: Language as a measure of impact

 UNESCO/S. Chaiyasook

Goal 2:
Achieve
Universal
Primary
Education

ducation is one of the most important ways for people to move out
of poverty, and a strong basic education is the first step. Children
who receive a good educational foundation at pre-primary and primary
school levels are in a much better position when they go on to navigate
lifes challenges as adults.
Significant progress is being made on MDG 2. Yet data indicates that
an estimated 67 million of the worlds children are still not enrolled in
primary education. Many children who do enrol in school later drop
out. Children from ethnolinguistic minoritiesand especially girlsare
disproportionately represented among those who are not receiving any,
or adequate, education.

 Tinsiri Siribodhi

Why language is important

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

Many children struggle at school when they are forced to learn in

languages that are not their mother tongue. School systems that
do not use learners own languages or respect their cultures make it
extremely difficult for children to stay in school and learn. For individuals,
communities and even whole ethnic minority groups, this contributes to
perpetuating cycles of marginalization and discrimination. For countries,
excluding large portions of the population from their right to good
quality education can delay economic growth and perpetuate conflict
and political instability.

12

A growing body of research worldwide demonstrates that instruction in

the mother tongue, beginning in the first years of school and continuing
for as long as possible, helps girls and boys in numerous ways. Teaching
children for a recommended six to eight years in their mother tongue
as well as gradually introducing national or other dominant languages
(sometimes called Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education) has
the following outcomes:12
12 For more information, see Pinnock, H. and Vijayakumar, G. 2009. Language and Education, The
Missing Link, How the language used in schools threatens the achievement of Education for All. Save
the Children and the CfBT Education Trust.

y Children receive a good foundation: When taught first in their own

languages, children learn better, are more self-confident and are well
equipped to transfer their literacy and numeracy skills to additional
languages.
y Children perform better: Evidence from linguistically diverse countries
worldwide shows that children taught first in their most familiar
language are more likely to thrive and excel in school.
y Fewer children repeat grades: Studies have found that children who
start formal education in a second or foreign language are more likely
to repeat school years.
y Fewer children drop out of school: Children who start formal education
in a second or foreign language are much more likely to experience
frustration and failure, resulting in higher dropout rates for these
children. Worldwide, some 50 percent of out-of-school children use a
language at home that is not the language used in school.13
y Children have more family support: When children learn in their
mother tongue, parents and families can be involved and support their
education. When children are learning in a second or foreign language,
families are often excluded from the process.

13 World Bank. 2005. Education Notes. July. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EDUCATION/

Resources/Education-Notes/EdNotes_Lang_of_Instruct.pdf (Accessed 12 November 2011)

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

y Cycles of exclusion are broken: By including families and drawing on

local cultural heritage, mother tongue-based education contributes to
communities social and cultural well-being and fosters inclusiveness
within the wider society.

13

Policy and practice

Policy
National education policies that prioritize learning in the mother tongue
within a strategy to improve educational quality and access are in the
political and economic interests of countries with high levels of linguistic
diversity.14
Sometimes governments fear that mother tongue-based education may
have negative socio-political effects. And sometimes parents fear that
mother tongue-based education may exclude their child from learning
the dominant languages in their country, which are often pathways to
jobs and wider opportunities.

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

A wide body of research suggests that in both cases the opposite is true.
Fostering mother tongue-based education helps to reduce alienation
and conflict. It better equips children to learn national and international
languages, and improves overall performance. Finland, for example,
is a leader in mother tongue-based education and also in academic
excellence of secondary school children.15

14

In the Asia-Pacific region, in 2009 the Philippines adopted a policy to

institutionalize mother tongue-based multilingual education in all public
and private schools, from pre-school to high school. Announcing the new
policy, the Department of Education stated, The lessons and findings of
various local initiatives and international studies in basic education have
validated the superiority of the use of the learners mother tongue or first
language in improving learning outcomes and promoting Education for
All.16
Development partners can support governments by promoting the use
of appropriate languages as a central pillar in achieving education quality
and inclusion. They can, for example, allocate a percentage of pooled
education funds and basic education budgets to the development of
14 Pinnock, H. and Vijayakumar, G., op. cit.
15 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2010. Slow and Steady Reform for
Consistently High Results Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education, in Strong
Performers and Successful Reformers: Lessons from PISA for the United States. OECD Publishing. www.
oecd.org/dataoecd/34/44/46581035.pdf (Accessed 10 June 2011).
16 Department of Education, the Philippines, DepEd Order No 74, 2009. Institutionalizing Mother
Tongue-based Multilingual Education (MLE). http://www.deped.gov.ph/cpanel/uploads/
issuanceImg/DO%20No.%2074,%20s.%202009.pdf (Accessed 16 January 2012).

mother tongue-based multilingual teaching and learning systems. In

addition, they can work to ensure that coverage of primary education in
the mother tongue is highlighted as an indicator of education quality.17

Practice
There are many examples of successful mother tongue-based multilingual
education programmes being implemented around the world. In the
Asia-Pacific region, for example, programmes have been implemented
or are being planned in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Papua New
Guinea, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, Thailand and Viet Nam, to
name a few.
Many mother tongue-based education initiatives in developing and
middle-income countries are, as yet, on a small scale. Scaling up such
initiatives will be vital as countries strive to achieve MDG 2.
Examples of regional projects showing success include those described
on the next page.

Language and identity are key issues in three provinces of Thailands deep
south, where there has been ongoing political unrest. The local language
and mother tongue of 83 percent of the million-plus population is Pattani
Malay. However, the language has not been officially accepted or used in the
education system. Ethnic language and culture are thus declining, and local
communities have low self-confidence. There is chronic underachievement
at school. A pilot programme introducing bilingual education is showing
early success. Children in mother tongue-based programmes scored 35
percent higher on Thai language exams than children in traditional Thai-only
classrooms.19
18 19

17 Pinnock, H. and Vijayakumar, G., op. cit.

18 For more information, see Premsrirat, S. 2010. The Role of MTB MLE in ECD and Education:
Experiences and Challenges in Southern Thailand. International Conference on Language,
Education and the MDGs, 9-11 November 2010, Bangkok, Thailand. SEAMEO. http://www.
seameo.org/LanguageMDGConference2010/doc/presentations/day1/SuwalaiPremsrirat-ppt.
pdf (Accessed 10 June 2011)
19 Vejjajiva, A. 2010. Opening Speech, International Conference on Language, Education and
the MDGs, 9-11 November 2010, Bangkok, Thailand. SEAMEO. http://media.thaigov.go.th/
pageconfig/viewcontent/viewcontent1e.asp?pageid=472&directory=1942&contents=51070
(Accessed 10 June 2011).

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

Southern Thailand: Local language education fosters community

empowerment and supports conflict reduction18

15

Bangladesh: Children benefit from mother tongue education20

Bangladesh has some 45 indigenous groups, 12 of which live in the Chittagong
Hill Tracts. The official language of school instruction in Bangladesh is the
national language, Bangla. Statistics indicate that around 60 percent of
children from indigenous groups drop out of primary education.21 Working
closely with local communities, and in a context of debate about appropriate
approaches to education, language choices, writing systems and other
matters, Save the Children started a culturally sensitive education programme
for primary school children in three ethnic languages: Chakma, Tippera and
Marma. The project confirmed that learning in the mother tongue supported
the children in their education. There was enthusiastic involvement from
the local community. Lessons learned within the initiative indicated that
six months is too short a bridging period between using the childs first
language and Bangla as a medium of instruction. A longer time span is
necessary for children to feel confident in both languages.
In another initiative focusing on pre-school children, Save the Children and
partner Zabayang Kalyan Samity found that children learning in the mother
tongue significantly outperformed counterparts who were not taught in the
mother tongue, in communications, language and literacy.22

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

20 21 22

16

20 Tripura, MB and Rahman, M. 2010. Mulilingual Education in Bangladesh: Promoting Quality

Education for Primary School Children. International Conference on Language, Education
and the MDGs, 9-11 November 2010, Bangkok, Thailand. SEAMEO. http://www.seameo.org/
LanguageMDGConference2010/doc/presentations/day2/MathuraBikashTripura-MatiurRahmanppt.pdf (Accessed 10 June 2011).
21 Asian Development Bank. 2001. Education in the CHT. TA 3328-BAN (Final Report #8), Dhaka,
ADB.
22 Pearce, E., Vijayakumar, G. and Nahar , M. 2010. Getting ready for school in the Chittagong Hill Tracts:
A comparative analysis of mother-tongue-and national-language-based preschools in Adivasi
communities. International Conference on Language, Education and the MDGs, 9-11 November
2010, Bangkok, Thailand. SEAMEO. http://www.seameo.org/LanguageMDGConference2010/
doc/presentations/day2/ElizabethPearce-GowriVijayakumar-MeherunNahar-sn.pdf (Accessed 10
June 2011).

Nepal: Reading in the local language boosts child literacy23

When Save the Children conducted literacy assessments in Nepal in 2008, it
found that 42 percent of Grade 3 children in partner schools in Kailili could not
read a single word. Most of those who were struggling to read were children
whose mother tongue was not the language of instruction. This prompted
intensive efforts to boost local language reading interventions through
the development of a Literacy Boost programme. Begun in 2009, Literacy
Boosts design included local language materials development and provision,
reading-focused instruction for classroom teachers, and community level
reading activities run by local volunteers who could speak Tharu, the local
mother tongue. Later testing showed that children in schools running the
Literacy Boost programme performed much better in terms of fluency and
accuracy than children in comparison schools. Save the Children has since
expanded Literacy Boost to more parts of Nepal, including Bajura in the Far
Western Region and Kapilvastu in the Western Region.

23 Shrestha, D.N., Pinto, C. and Ochoa, C.S. 2010. Language and Early Grades Literacy Acquisition in
Nepal. International Conference on Language, Education and the MDGs, 9-11 November 2010,
Bangkok, Thailand. SEAMEO. http://www.seameo.org/LanguageMDGConference2010/doc/
presentations/day1/DeerghaN.Shrestha-CeciliaOchoa-ppt.pdf (Accessed 10 June 2011).

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

Din Muhammad Shibly

23

17

 UNESCO/S. Chaiyasook

Goal 3:
Promote
Gender Equality
and
Empower
Women

omen and girls are disproportionately represented amongst the worlds

most marginalized people. In developing regions overall, despite
improvements since 1990, many millions of girls are still not in school. Nearly
two-thirds of the worlds 796 million illiterate people are women, and a high
proportion of these are from ethnolinguistic minority communities.
Women from minority groups are often particularly excluded from
opportunities to improve their situations. They suffer the compound impact
of discrimination based on gender and discrimination based on ethnic,
religious or linguistic diversity.
Investing in women and girls has been described as a breakthrough strategy
for achieving all the MDGs. That is because research has found that improving
womens control over resources, their level of decision-making power in the
family and household, and their degree of control over their own physical
security can help free up bottlenecks that hamper further progress across
all the MDG targets.24
24 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2010. Investing in Women and Girls: The
Breakthrough Strategy for Achieving all the MDGs. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/45/55/45704694.
pdf (Accessed 10 June 2011).

Why language is important

The ability to access education and information in their own languages is
vital for the empowerment of women.
Education for girls: Research into bilingual education in Africa and Latin
America has found that girls who learn first in familiar languages stay in
school longer and are more likely to be identified as good students. They
do better on achievement tests and repeat grades less often than girls
who do not get instruction in their mother tongue.25

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

Education for women: Improving adult womens immediate situations

is vital to achieving development goals. There are many examples of
how boosting womens literacy in their own language, in combination
with livelihood initiatives, improves their economic position, enhances
their decision-making role at home and in the community, and impacts
favorably on the way families bring up their children. Providing women
with information and support in their own language on how to protect
themselves and girls from violence, domestic abuse and other forms of
maltreatment can also have a great impact on helping women improve
their lives.

20

Research has also shed useful light on how language is at the center of
culture and belief systems that contain elements that can both empower
and disempower women. Ethnographic work with the participation
of local communities can help raise awareness of the aspects of local
languages that impact on womens situations, helping literacy and
lifelong learning programmes achieve greater success. By revealing areas
of discrimination and bias that hold women back, for example, such
research can provide a fruitful basis for discussion and debate that helps
women find their own solutions to the challenges they face.

25 Benson, C. 2005. Girls, Educational Equity and Mother Tongue Based Teaching. Bangkok, UNESCO.
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001420/142049e.pdf (Accessed 10 June 2011).

Policy and practice

Policy
National education policies: Girls are helped by national education
policies that recognize the need for mother tongue-based multilingual
education. Educators have shown that mother tongue-based education
helps girls perform better, feel more confident and stay in school longer.
They believe that the positive impact of mother tongue-based education
may be even stronger for girls than for boys and have called for more
research to add to the evidence for this.
Educators also point out that teachers who use the language of the home
are more easily able to foster good relationships with pupils families.
Such relationships often enhance girls attendance at school and help
mitigate against a range of factors that may result in girls leaving the
school system early.

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

Din Muhammad Shibly

National literacy programmes: Womens lives can be improved rapidly

by literacy programmes focusing on local languages, preferably in
combination with other participatory initiatives that enhance livelihoods.

21

Effective literacy initiatives need to be rooted in understanding and

knowledge of the local language, and local beliefs, culture, power
relationships and problem-solving systems. Language investigation, for
example, can reveal important barriers and opportunities for women.

Practice
As awareness grows that empowering women is one of the fastest
ways to improve overall conditions for families and communities, more
attention is also being paid to the importance of local languages as part
of the process.
India: Women build on local languages to create a bridge to wider
opportunities26

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

A programme facilitated by the organization URMUL Seemant Samiti, working

with women embroiderers in the Thar desert of India, began by holding
discussions in the local language around ways in which women could gain
more control of markets for their beautiful embroidery. Their society was one
in which women did not normally speak about business-related concepts.
After first gaining confidence and knowledge in communicating about
such concepts in their local language, the women decided they needed to
become more skilled in the language, needs and practices of buyers. They
then learned enough of the second language so they could negotiate for
improved payments.

22

The combination of first building capacity in the mother language and then
moving on to a bridge language brought tangible income benefits, which
had the additional effect of improving the health, nutrition and housing of the
women and their families.
26

26 Ojha, J. K. 2010. Moving from Silence to Speech: Role of Language in Womens Empowerment in an
Indian Desert. International Conference on Language, Education and the MDGs, 9-11 November
2010, Bangkok, Thailand. SEAMEO. http://www.seameo.org/LanguageMDGConference2010/
doc/presentations/day1/JayaKritikaOjha-sn.pdf (Accessed 10 June 2011).

Uganda and Bangladesh: Working in local languages, women deploy

information and communications technology
The new information and communication technologies (ICTs) can be important
aids to the empowerment of women, including those who are illiterate, if they
are used appropriately in local contexts and use local languages. The use of
mobile phones, for example, has empowered many women and improved
their livelihoods in local situations. In Uganda, as part of a project called the
Womens Information Resource Electronic Service (WIRES), women engage
in small-scale enterprise using telephones to contact suppliers or clients.27
In Bangladesh, women earn an income through the Village Pay Phone
programme of the Grameen Bank.
Computers and the Internet also open up many possibilities for women, but
for their benefits to be enjoyed by all, including rural women and those from
ethnolinguistic minority communities, localizing content and languages
is essential. In some areas, this work is bearing fruit in community learning
centers used by women. Computer interfaces have been developed using
icons, graphics and sound recordings for the illiterate and neo-literate.

27 For more information see Colle, R. D. op. cit.

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

Simon Baker

27

23

 UNESCO/S. Chaiyasook

Goals 4
and 5:
Reduce Child
Mortality and
Improve Maternal
Health

uch work remains to be done in terms of improving the health and

life prospects of vulnerable women and children. An estimated
10.5 million children under the age of five die every year. The vast majority
of the children die needlessly, from preventable causes. Many succumb
to pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, measles and AIDS. Malnutrition is the
underlying cause of around half of the deaths.

Every minute, a woman dies from complications in childbirth. Of the

more than half a million women who die from complications in childbirth
each year, most come from developing countries.28 Most of these deaths
are preventable, being mainly due to insufficient care during pregnancy
and delivery.
28 UNICEF on MDG 5. See www.unicef.org/mdg/maternal.html (Accessed on 10 June 2011)

Why language is important

Many lives can be saved through women receiving better information
on, for example, nutrition, the important role of breastfeeding for child
health, and how to prevent and treat infections, diarrhea and malaria.
Women need to receive health information in a language that is familiar
to them and in ways that engage with their cultural context.
Research in South-East Asia found that many ethnic minority people
identified language as a major constraint to accessing health services. For
many highland minorities, the national language was in effect a foreign
language. The research concluded that, In the health sector, patients and
providers need to be able to communicate A health provider who
does not speak the same language as the patient may have difficulties in
diagnosing and curing a health problem, or in sharing health information.
And without communication, it is difficult for patients to develop a sense
of trust. This has negative effects on the health-seeking behavior of the
ethnic minority population.29
Better health outcomes are also achieved by improving genuine
educational opportunities for ethnic minority girls and women. The
impacts of literate, educated mothers on their communities in terms of
better health have been well-documented.

Policy and practice

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

Policy

26

Recognizing the importance of language in national health policies

and strategies is vital to ensure that all people, including marginalized
women, are reached. Researchers have provided many examples of health
successes as a result of focused engagement with local languages. For
example, in a province of Lao PDR, there was much greater participation
and enthusiasm among Hmong and Khmu ethnic populations, and
a reduction in malaria and diarrhea, after a local primary health care
provider worked with local ethnic groups to produce videos, story boards
and other health education materials in the local languages.30
29 Asian Development Bank. 2001. Health and Education Needs of Ethnic Minorities in the Greater
Mekong Subregion. Manila, ADB. http://www.adb.org/Documents/Studies/Health_Education_
GMS/default.asp (Accessed 10 June 2011).
30 Ibid, p. 25

 UNESCO/S. Chaiyasook

Other important approaches include recognizing the role of training

indigenous health workers who speak to women in their own languages,
and promoting intercultural approaches to health care.

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

TV, radio, songs, video and community theater have all been used
effectively to introduce health messages to hard to reach populations
and where there is a lack of literacy. In Bangladesh, for example, UNICEF
supported popular community theater in local languages in remote
ethnic areas to highlight "how hand washing helps to prevent diarrhea"
and "how covering the mouth when coughing or sneezing helps prevent
the spread of respiratory diseases".

27

Practice
Below are some examples of projects that use local languages to improve
maternal and child health.
The Philippines: Local language discussions are a route to better
health31
Muslim Mindanao is linguistically and ethnically diverse and has one of the
highest reported instances of child and maternal mortality in the Philippines.
One project recognized the importance of local language and culture for
community participation and engagement with potential solutions. It initiated
an approach called Tumpukan Na! (community discussion sessions) that
incorporated and built on community traditions to hold lively talk sessions
on health topics such as vitamin A supplements, immunization, breastfeeding
and maternal care. The discussions elicited levels of community understanding
around specific health issues and, importantly, identified key local words and
concepts on health matters. The result was increased uptake by the local
community of existing health services and more proactive demands from the
community for services.

28

UNESCO/S. Chaiyasook

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

31

31 Alcantara, Jr. LA. 2010. Improving Acceptability, Access and Coverage of Key Health Services
in ARMM Through Tumpukan Na!. International Conference on Language, Education and the
MDGs, 9-11 November 2010, Bangkok, Thailand. SEAMEO. Conference presentation. http://www.
seameo.org/LanguageMDGConference2010/doc/presentations/day3/LeonardoA.AlcantaraMDppt.pdf (Accessed 10 June 2011).

Viet Nam: When midwives and patients share a language, there are
better results32
Research shows that one of the most important interventions for safe
motherhood is to make sure that a trained health provider with midwifery
skills is present at every birth. In Viet Nam, five to seven women die every
day due to complications in pregnancy or childbirth. The highest numbers
of deaths are in remote and mountainous ethnic minority areas, partly due
to a shortage of skilled birth attendants and healthcare workers. Also, cultural
barriers in those areas keep many women from using reproductive health
services.
To address this issue, the government and international development
partners are supporting an initiative to train local women to become villagebased midwives. The new midwives understanding of the language, culture,
and belief systems of their patients is key to gaining trust and encouraging
women to receive appropriate health services. Women are satisfied with my
work, said Te, a newly trained midwife. They trust me for several reasons: I was
born and grew up in this village. Therefore they know meand we belong
to the same ethnic minority group and speak the same language. That trust
makes it easier for Te to approach women to provide a variety of health services
and has contributed to overcoming certain traditions (including forest births)
that have made mothers slow to access maternal health services in the past.

32 United Nations Population Fund. UNFPA, 2010. Reaching Out to Minorities in Viet Nam with
Midwives who Speak their Language. Feature Story, 17 September. http://vietnam.unfpa.org/
public/cache/offonce/pid/6629;jsessionid=F17687E17634C84823C3C4FD16EE6D75 (Accessed
10 June 2011).

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

Pham Hoai Thanh/Viet Nam

32

29

 UNESCO/I. Sangprasit

Goal 6:
Combat HIV
and AIDS, Malaria
and Other
Diseases

ackling preventable disease is an essential part of improving the lives

and prospects of millions of people. At the end of 2010, an estimated
34 million people were living with HIV and AIDS worldwide, half of them
women.33 In 2008, there were 247 million cases of malaria and nearly
one million deaths mostly among children living in Africa, where the
disease accounts for 20 percent of all childhood deaths.34 Malaria is also a
significant cause of death in South-East Asia and other regions.

33 AVERT. 2010. Global HIV and AIDS estimates, end of 2009. http://www.avert.org/worldstats.htm
(Accessed 10 June 2011).
34 World Health Organisation. 2011. Malaria. Fact Sheet No. 94, October. www.who.int/mediacentre/
factsheets/fs094/en (Accessed 10 June 2011).

 UNESCO/S. Baker

Why language is important

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

People in ethnolinguistic minority communities are especially vulnerable

to HIV and AIDS, malaria and other health challenges due in part to
the lack of essential information provided in their own languages, in a
culturally sensitive manner and by people they trust.

32

The complexity of, and the stigma often associated with, HIV and AIDS
makes the way we communicate about the issues particularly important.
Educational campaigns on HIV can help dispel fear and stigma and
encourage people to access services and treatment. But developed and
presented inappropriately they can further marginalize and stigmatize
vulnerable communities and create further obstacles to information and
services.
Moreover, people in ethnolinguistic minority communities can be
especially vulnerable to HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases due in
part to the lack of essential information provided in their own languages,
in a culturally sensitive manner and by people they trust. Programmes
must be tailored to the cultural specificities of a community to be most
relevant and effective. This is perhaps most important in the context of

HIV and AIDS, where understandings of health, relationships, individual

and social choices, and behaviors are strongly influenced by culture.35

Policy and practice

Policy

35 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. UNESCO, 2010. UNESCOs Short
Guide to the Essential Characteristics of Effective HIV Prevention. http://portal.unesco.org/en/
ev.php-URL_ID=48359&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html (Accessed 18 January
2012).
36 Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. UNAIDS, 2011. UNAIDS Terminology Guidelines.
http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/unaidspublication/2011/
JC2118_terminology-guidelines_en.pdf (Accessed 18 January 2012).

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

UNESCO/P. Areenukul

National policies on HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases, must
consider how the language used can influence health outcomes. For
example, AIDS is often referred to as a deadly, incurable disease, but this
may create fear and increase stigma and discrimination. With advances in
anti-retroviral treatment, HIV has also been referred to as a manageable,
chronic illness, much like hypertension or diabetes but this may lead
people to believe that it is not as serious as they thought.36 Communication
strategies to improve health outcomes have to define messages that
are understandable, relevant to the target audience, based on available
evidence, appropriate to the local culture, and in local languages.

33

Research shows that messages are most readily trusted and accepted
when the source of the information is familiar and known to the recipient.
Messages perceived as coming entirely from the outside, with no local
connection, are more likely to fail.37 Local participation in the production
as well as the reception of messages is vital. This means working with
and listening to communities in their own languages, to find the most
appropriate and acceptable ways to introduce health messages, and to
ensure that all members of the community, including women and girls,
are reached. Finally, the medium can often be just as important as the
message. Radio, video, community-based discussions and community
theater in local languages can be strong tools to access and communicate
with ethnolinguistic minority and other marginalized communities.

Practice
On the next page are some examples of projects that use local languages
to combat HIV and AIDS, and malaria.38for table greater mekong

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

Greater Mekong: Soap operas focus on HIV and AIDS and health
messages38

34

The Greater Mekong region is highly ethnically and linguistically diverse.

In order to reach remote populations that have little information on HIV
and AIDS but are vulnerable to the spread of the virus, several radio soap
operas were produced in over a dozen of different ethnic languages in
Cambodia, China (Yunnan and Sichuan provinces), Lao PDR and Thailand. The
programmes were developed following the UNESCO 12-step methodology
for the production of research-based culturally and linguistically appropriate
materials. Local researchers, authors and actors worked together to develop
popular radio dramas which presented key HIV and AIDS and health messages
in an attractive format. After listening to the soap opera, the knowledge of
the audience regarding HIV and AIDS transmission and protection increased
sharply. The projects demonstrated the crucial importance of research and
testing to avoid misunderstandings and ensure the messages are effective,
relevant and popular with audiences.
37 Vincent, R. 2001. Beyond Circles in Square Boxes: Lessons Learned from Health Communication Impact
Evaluations. London, HealthLink. http://www.healthlink.org.uk/PDFs/circles.pdf (Accessed 18
January 2012).
38 For more information see Achilles, V. 2010. Same But Different, Talking HIV in the Highlands.
International Conference on Language, Education and the MDGs, 9-11 November 2010, Bangkok,
Thailand. SEAMEO. http://www.seameo.org/LanguageMDGConference2010/doc/presentations/
day3/VanessaAchilles-ppt.pdf (Accessed 10 June 2011).

South-East Asia: Working in local languages helps fight malaria39

Though the use of specially-treated bed nets has been shown to be the
most effective known barrier against malaria, many remote and vulnerable
communities worldwide have been reluctant to use the nets, often because
they traditionally did not connect mosquitoes with the disease.
One group of researchers worked closely with small communities of
highland Akha and Lahu people in the Mekong region to understand local
traditions and beliefs and how these related to bed net use. They realized that
innovations such as bed nets would only work if they fit in with, and were a
part of, the communitys systems of values and meanings, most of which find
their strongest expression in stories and especially in ceremonies.
Over long periods of trust building, discussion, and story-telling and the
holding of eventually a large local community ceremony around bed nets,
the use of the nets increased. The incidence of malaria was reported to have
been reduced by around 50 percent.

39 Herda, E. A. and Dzuber, V. 2010. Tradition and New Ways of Learning Among Akha and
Lahu: Reinterpreting Malaria Prevention. International Conference on Language, Education
and the MDGs, 9-11 November 2010, Bangkok, Thailand. SEAMEO. http://www.seameo.org/
LanguageMDGConference2010/doc/presentations/day1/EllenHerda-Dr.ValerieDzubur-ppt.pdf
(Accessed 10 June 2011).

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

39

35

 UNESCO/S. Chaiyasook

Goal 7:
Ensure
Sustainable
Development

t its simplest, sustainable development refers to using and managing

the worlds resources in ways that meet current human needs without
compromising the ability of future generations to also meet their needs.
Many regions of the world that are rich in natural resources and biodiversity
are also areas of the greatest cultural and linguistic diversity.40 Indonesia,
for example, has more than 700 languages and is one of worlds leading
biodiversity hotspots. Brazil, with 200 languages, is another leader in
terms of plants, mammals, reptiles, birds, fish and the ecosystems that
support them.
The fates of thousands of ethnolinguistic minorities, their languages, and
some of the worlds richest environments are deeply intertwined.
40 Romaine, S. 2010. Language and the MDGs, International Conference on Language, Education
and the MDGs, 9-11 November 2010, Bangkok, Thailand, SEAMEO. http://www.seameo.org/
LanguageMDGConference2010/doc/presentations/day1/SuzanneRomaine-keynote.pdf
(Accessed 10 June 2011).

Why language is important

Sustainable development needs the participation of all groups, especially
ethnolinguistic minorities who depend on healthy ecosystems for their
survival and future.41 Yet minorities distance from the worlds centers and
languages of decision-making and power makes them vulnerable to
exclusion and marginalization.
Language has an important part to play in minorities participation in the
development process. Researchers who focused on the importance of
language for sustainable development in communities in Ivory Coast,
Namibia and Indonesia have pointed out that failure to engage with
the minority languages only increases minority peoples exclusion. They
highlight the positive aspects of communicative sustainability over the
negative results of communicative dependency and conclude that local
languages are a key resource.42
They are a resource for:
y understanding and analyzing local actors, their analyses and viewpoints,
and the human factor in determining action and inaction, and
y for influencing social cohesion and social inclusion or exclusion.

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

And they are a resource as:

y the default site for negotiating, implementing and monitoring local
development,

38

y a clearing place for relating and integrating expert and local knowledge
and reshaping the roles of and relationships between experts and
actors,
y a source of strengthening a sense of ownership conducive to ecological
responsibility and conservation, and
y as an object of development in their own right, including their creative
potential in oral and written mode.

41 Ibid.
42 Lagsus. 2008. Language, Gender and Sustainability (2003-2007) Final Report. http://www.
lagsus.de/pdf/LAGSUS%20Final%20report%202003-2007.pdf (Accessed 10 June 2011).

Participation in sustainable development starts with people discussing

matters in their own languages, within their own cultural, social
and community structures. From there, they can move on to wider
engagement on issues that are generally conducted in the languages of
development and power.

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

UNESCO/S. Chaiyasook

Education is also vitally important for minorities participation in the

development process. Children who receive a strong educational
foundation in their mother tongue are in the best position to move forward
with confidence, to learn other languages, and to make a contribution
to their societies future. Strengthening early education helps to equip
young people and communities with sufficient knowledge, capacity
and self-confidence to engage in decision-making about development
and to protect their rights. For adults, literacy and lifelong education
programmes can increase inclusion in development and decisionmaking processes. Finally, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD),
promoted in local languages, supports stakeholders of all kinds to learn
about and take action on sustainability issues.

39

Policy and practice

Policy
Local languages are a crucial element in policy and planning for
participatory sustainable development (see also MDG1).
National education policies that strengthen mother tongues in early
education are essential to strengthen local communities and increase their
inclusion. Research shows that education helps in many other ways too;
it can, for example, improve agricultural productivity, enhance the status
of women, reduce population growth rates, enhance environmental
protection, and generally raise the standard of living.43 In addition,
promoting ESD within education systems can help people engage in the
search for sustainable solutions at the community and wider levels.

Practice
Below are some examples of how a focus on local languages can help
bring about development that is sustainable.
Language documentation strengthens communities44

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

Language documentation is often an important first step for strengthening

local communities and their engagement in development issues. Through
language documentation, local communities, often working with
ethnographers, uncover and record endangered cultural, environmental and
other forms of local knowledge.

40

The process bolsters the self-esteem of people in marginalized groups,

enhances peoples awareness of their shared historical knowledge systems,
and places them in a stronger position to participate in decision-making and
negotiations on the issues that have an impact on them.
44for table Language

43 McKeon, R. 2002. Education for Sustainable Development Toolkit. Version 2. http://www.esdtoolkit.

org/ (Accessed 10 July 2011).
44 Atindogb, G. 2010. Documentary Linguistics As A Means to Achieve the MDGs. International
Conference on Language, Education and the MDGs, 9-11 November 2010, Bangkok, Thailand,
SEAMEO.http://www.seameo.org/LanguageMDGConference2010/doc/presentations/day1/
GratienG.Atindogbe-ppt.pdf (Accessed 10 June 2011).

Mindanao, the Philippines: Local language is a springboard to sustainable solutions45

The Apu Palamguwan Cultural Education Center works in the local mother tongue
for sustainable development among the Bukidnon Pulangiyan people in Mindanao.
Community schools strengthen the mother tongue in primary education, and there is
literacy education for adults in the mother tongue, in combination with education for
sustainable livelihoods, and cultural celebration.
Working in the local language, the community has engaged with broader opportunities
around education and human development, and continues to draw from its traditional
values and concepts. The concept of Culture-Based Education (CBE) has a powerful
resonance within the community. A strong sense of cultural identity is essential in
building the communitys sense of belonging in the broader society and with the
national language. CBE maintains that using the mother tongue is important not just
because it helps children learn, but because it is where the peoples wisdom, values
and meanings can be found. Much of the learning draws on experiences with water,
land and all life in the community, giving an integrated basis for understanding science
and adapting to ecological and climate change. Studying ones own culture is also
a pathway to understanding other things, including mainstream knowledge such as
math and other languages.
Mongolia: Minority language focus helps build human security

The importance of local languages is a key theme running through a range of initiatives
to improve minorities access to education, health information and skills training. There
is support for local language radio and television to provide key economic, health,
educational and other information. Minority languages are being given increased
recognition and support in child education, in non-formal adult education, and in skills
training and identifying business opportunities. The project is intended to strengthen
Mongolias current and future policy and practice in support of all the MDGs, especially
MDG 7, and it is hoped that its focus on local languages will provide useful learning for
policy makers.
45 46

45 Walpole, P. 2010. Learning Sustainable Solutions. Bukidnon Pulangiyan Community Experience of Integrating
Mother Tongue Education for Sustainablility of Culture and Land. International Conference on Language,
Education and the MDGs, 9-11 November 2010, Bangkok, Thailand, SEAMEO. http://www.seameo.org/
LanguageMDGConference2010/doc/presentations/day3/PedroWalpole-ppt.pdf (Accessed 10 June 2011)
46 The UN Trust Fund for Human Security Project, Mongolia, is a joint project of the Mongolian Government
and several UN agencies, including UNESCO, WHO, UNDP and UNICEF.

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

Mongolia is developing rapidly but ethnolinguistic minorities remain highly

disadvantaged. Recognizing this, the Mongolian Government and several United
Nations agencies46 launched a project in 2009 to bolster the long-term human security
and self-sustainability of vulnerable rural and ethnolinguistic minority communities,
including nomadic communities.

41

 UNESCO/S. Chaiyasook

Goal 8:
Foster Global
Partnerships
for Development

artnerships to harness the strengths of nations, institutions and civil

society around the world are vital to enhance policies and practices
towards realizing the MDGs. The private sector also plays an integral role,
as a critical driver of innovation and investments in essential services such
as health care, education and clean water and sanitation.

n particular, partnerships to broaden access to new technologies are

crucial to bridge the gaps in equitable development for all. Information
and communication technology (ICT) can assist in accelerating
development across all the MDGs. Mobile telephones and the Internet
facilitate improved efficiencies and capacities across many fields, including
health, education and poverty reduction. However, it is important to
bridge the digital divide that currently prevents many nations and
people from having sufficient access to many new technologies.

Why language is important

ICT can be a powerful tool for sharing knowledge and information in
pursuit of development goals, and partnerships between public and
private sectors must be strengthened to ensure equitable access to and
relevance and quality of ICT for all minorities. Developing and providing
materials and software in local languages fosters participation and
inclusion of minorities.
In education, various countries are recognizing that ICT can facilitate
learning among traditionally excluded populations such as girls and
women, ethnic minorities and persons with disabilities. As a result, pilot,
internet-based education initiatives are enhancing access to education
for those groups.47

Policy and Practice

Policy

44

UNESCO/S. Chaiyasook

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

National ICT policies that support increased access, improved governance

and infrastructural supports, and the localization of materials and software
help pave the way for greater inclusion for all groups, including rural and
minority populations, in health, education and livelihood development.

47 United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development. 2009. White Paper: Information &
Communications Technology for Education in Development. http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/
groups/public/documents/gaid/unpan034975.pdf (Accessed 10 June 2011).

Practice
Below is an example of a project that utilizes ICT and local languages.
South Africa: Health messages reach population via mobile phone
Project Masiluleke (Project M) in South Africa sends out important health
information in phone text messages in local languages. South Africa has
11 officially recognized languages, and in order to reach as many people
as possible, the project has acknowledged that it is crucial for people to be
addressed in a language they understand.

Why Language Matters

for the Millennium Development Goals

UNESCO/S. Chaiyasook

Since October 2008, Project M has sent out more than 1 billion short message
service (SMS) text messages to the general public on HIV and AIDS, resulting in
a huge volume of calls to the national AIDS hotline. The project has reported a
greater increase in calls when messages are received in vernacular languages
such as Zulu, compared with when they are sent in English.

45

 SEAMEO
UNESCO/S. Chaiyasook

Notes

UNESCO Bangkok
Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education
Mom Luang Pin Malakul Centenary Building
920 Sukhumvit Road, Prakanong, Klongtoey
Bangkok 10110, Thailand
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.unesco.org/bangkok/education/appeal
Tel: +66-2-3910577 Fax: +66-2-3910866

This publication was printed eco-friendly

using soy-based ink and 60% recycled paper