The UB approves its 2nd Language Promotion Plan

The Governing Council of the University of Barcelona approved the 2nd Language Promotion Plan, a strategic document that establishes the lines of action to promote the use and knowledge of Catalan, as well as strengthening the institutional commitment to the University’s own language and developing an inclusive language policy in all areas of university life. 

The plan was coordinated by Jordi Matas, professor at the Faculty of Law, and is aimed at the entire university community — students, research and teaching staff (PDI) and technical, management and administration and services staff (PTGAS). The document highlights the fundamental role of the language promotion committees of the faculties in the implementation of the planned actions. 

The plan sets three main strategic objectives: to standardize, promote and increase the use of Catalan at the University of Barcelona and improve its quality; to raise linguistic awareness, influence attitudes towards the language and foster a sense of linguistic responsibility among the university community to consolidate Catalan as a language of academic excellence; and to strengthen coordination between the different agents and bodies involved in the UB’s language policy, fostering new collaborations in this area. These objectives are set out in 36 actions that will set the priorities for the coming academic years. 

The new plan is based on a rigorous analysis of the current social, political and regulatory context, and represents a step forward, building on the decades of work carried out by the Language Services, the Language Promotion Network and the Language Policy Committee. This trajectory makes it possible to propose a redefinition of the concept of language promotion, with the aim of generating a new collective awareness that fosters the use of Catalan in all areas of academic and institutional life. 

Josep Monserrat, Vice-Rector Language Policy, said the new plan represents an opportunity to reaffirm the university’s commitment to Catalan: “The UB’s first Language Promotion Plan was approved in 1990. It was a model document that initiated actions that continue today thanks to the work and commitment of the university community, thanks in large part to the work of the Language Services. We now need this new plan because we cannot ignore the UB’s responsibility in the face of the compromised situation of the language”. 

With the approval of the 2nd Language Promotion Plan, the UB reaffirms its desire to consolidate Catalan as the institution’s own language of prestige, while respecting the linguistic rights of all members of the university community and staying true to the institution’s core values.