Ämnen: Nationella minoritetsspråk .

Perspectives on the Revitalization of Minority Languages 2025

Lund University and The Institute for Language and Folklore (Isof) welcome everyone interested in language and culture to a conference that looks at revitalization – not just as a theory, but as something people do, share, and shape together through lived experience and knowledge.

2025 marks the 25th anniversary of Sweden’s recognition of the five national minorities and the five national minority languages through ratification of the Council of Europe’s European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. This year also marks the 250th anniversary of Jewish life in Sweden.

Lund University and The Institute for Language and Folklore (Isof) welcome you to a conference that highlights both hands-on experiences and research, with the aim of exploring what revitalization means in theory and in practice. Furthermore, we wish to encourage dialogue between practical revitalization efforts and academic research, and how these domains may inform and strengthen one another. We hope that the conference will serve as an opportunity to set goals for future activity and to discuss achievements and challenges in revitalization during the 25 years since ratifying the minority conventions.

Over two days, participants will have the opportunity to engage with current academic research (Day 1, 16.10.25) and gain inspiration from successful hands-on projects and initiatives (Day 2, 17.10.25). The conference welcomes researchers, activists, and anyone involved with or interested in minority languages.

Date and location

Date: 16–17 October 2025
Location: LUX (Hus B), Helgonavägen 3, Lund University, Lund External link.

Fee: 600 SEK (excluding VAT)
If you attend only one day, the fee is:

  • 350 SEK (excluding VAT) for Day 1 (16 October)
  • 250 SEK (excluding VAT) for Day 2 (17 October)

Separate information regarding payment of the conference fee will be sent by email.

Registration: Please register by filling in the form below by 5 October.

Live broadcast: The conference will be broadcast live on the web. Register in the form below to receive the link.

For questions, contact: revitaliseringskonferens@isof.se

Registration: Participate in the conference

Registration: Follow the live broadcast

If you are unable to attend the conference in person, you can follow the live broadcast online free of charge. Submit your email address here and we will send you the link before the conference.

Program

Thursday 16 October

Current international research on language revitalization

The sessions on Thursday will primarily be held in English.

8:15–9:00 – Registration

9:00–9:15 – Welcome
Sara Håkansson, Deputy Dean of the Faculty
Martin Sundin, Director general, Isof

9:15–10:15 – Keynote
25 years of Minority Policy in Sweden
Lennart Rohdin (in Swedish), Regeringens särskilde utredare av en stärkt minoritetspolitik 2016–2017

Knot in the thread – Challinges for the implementation of the Swedish ratification of the ECRML
Jarmo Lainio, Professor Emeritus in Finnish at Stockholm University, and Sweden’s representative on the Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts for the monitoring of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

10:15–10:45 – Coffee break

10:45–11:30 – Keynote
Revitalisation through summer courses: an observation of Yiddish programs in Europe
Magali C. Bertrand, MA, School of French as a foreign language, University of Lausanne

11:30–11:55 – Sámi language revitalization and the transformation of municipal services.
Liuewe Jan Hettema, Umeå University

11:55–12:20 – Parental narratives of reclaiming, maintaining, and transmitting Meänkieli.
Janica Jokela, Umeå University

12:20-13:30 – Lunch

13:30–14:15 – Keynote
Reviving Yiddish culture among Holocaust survivors in Sweden
Simo Muir, Associate Professor of Jewish Studies, University of Helsinki/Uppsala University

14:15–14:40 – The Sweden Finnish vocabulary as a means of language revitalization
Tarja Larsson, Institutet för språk och folkminnen

14:40–15:05 – Easy-to-Read Novels as Support for National Minority Language Learning: An Analysis of Stockholm University's Easy-to-Read Project
Outi Oja, Stockholm University

15:05–15:35 – Coffee break

15:35–16:00 – Language Friendliness as Part of National-Minority Governance: Municipal Communication Experienced by Sweden-Finnish Senior Citizens
Maarit Jaakkola, University of Gothenburg

16:00–16:25 – Romska initiativ och förutsättningar för revitalisering av romani chib i Sverige
Angelina Dimiter-Taikon & Anna Lindqvist, Södertörn University

16:30–16:45 – Concluding remarks

17:00–18:30 – Reception

19.00–20.00: Optional program VAYTER – A Concert Evening about Yiddish

Please note that the ticket is not included in the conference fee. Visit the webpage below for more details about the concert and ticket booking:

VAYTER En konsertkväll om jiddisch | Odeum External link.

Friday 17 October

Methods for language revitalization, local initiatives and experiences

The sessions on Friday will primarily be held in Swedish.

8:15–9:00 – Registration

9:00–9:15 – Welcome
Harriet Kowalski, head of department, Isof
Rakel Nihlén, study director, Lund University

9:15–10:00 – Keynote Litteratur har fortfarande ett budskap
Anitta Viinikka-Kallinen, Assistant Professor in Kven and Finnish literature, UiT The Arctic University of Norway

10:00–10:30 – Coffee break

10:30–11:00 – Vad kan biblioteken göra? Folkbibliotek, nationella minoriteter och språkrevitalisering
Åsa-Maria Berg Levinsson, Kulturförvaltningen Västra Götalandsregionen, Bibliotek och litteratur

11.00-11.25 – É romani vorba – Det romska ordet
Karin Hallin & Django Daikumer, Studieförbundet Bilda Sydväst

11:25–11.45– Jiddisch i Relle
Shahar Itzhak, Judiska församlingen Göteborg

12:00–13:00 – Lunch

13:00–13:25 – Discobåt, två språk, en gemenskap och 100 % sinä
Kalle Kinnunen, Sverigefinska ungdomsförbundet

13:25–13:55 – Sveriges första kulturhus för nationella minoriteter
Antti Yliselä, Studieförbundet Vuxenskolan Göteborg

13.55–14:30 – Concluding remarks

Keynote speakers

Lennart Rohdin

Lennart Rohdin, the Government’s Special Investigator on a Strengthened Minority Policy (2016–2017).

”25 years of Minority Policy in Sweden”

Jarmo Lainio

Jarmo Lainio, Professor Emeritus in Finnish at Stockholm University, and Sweden’s representative on the Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts for the monitoring of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

”Knot in the thread - Challinges for the implementation of the Swedish ratification of the ECRML”

Magali C. Bertrand

Magali C. Bertrand, MA, School of French as a foreign language, University of Lausanne.

“Revitalisation through summer courses: an observation of Yiddish programs in Europe”

 

Simo Muir

Simo Muir, Associate Professor of Jewish Studies, University of Helsinki / Uppsala University.

“Reviving Yiddish culture among Holocaust survivors in Sweden”

 

Anitta Viinikka Kallinen

Anitta Viinikka Kallinen, Associate Professor of Kven and Finnish Literature, UiT The Arctic University of Norway.

"Literature still carries a message"

 

About Lund university and Isof

Lund university has a government assignment to offer education in Yiddish, including teacher education, in light of Sweden's commitments under the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

The Institute for Language and Folklore (Isof) has a government assignment to conduct language planning and language promotion for Finnish, Yiddish, Meänkieli, Romani Chib and Swedish Sign Language. During 2025, Isof also has a government assignment to contribute to the commemoration of 250 years of Jewish life in Sweden.

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Published 6 May 2025
Last update 14 October 2025
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