At the WSIS+20 High-Level Event in Geneva, UNESCO convened a powerful session on the critical need to protect multilingualism in the digital age. With over 8,000 languages spoken globally but fewer than 120 represented online, the panel warned of a growing digital divide that excludes billions and marginalises thousands of cultures.

Dr Tawfik Jelassi of UNESCO painted a vivid metaphor of the internet as a vast library where most languages have no books on the shelves, calling for urgent action to safeguard humanity's linguistic and cultural diversity.

Speakers underscored that bridging this divide goes beyond creating language tools-it requires systemic change rooted in policy, education, and community empowerment. Guilherme Canela of UNESCO highlighted ongoing initiatives like the 2003 Recommendation on Multilingualism and the UN Decade of Indigenous Languages, which has already inspired 15 national action plans.

Panellists like Valts Ernstreits and Sofiya Zahova emphasised community-led efforts, citing examples from Latvia, Iceland, and S