In recent years there has been a marked loss of support for learning foreign languages, leading to a rise in Intolerance towards other people and cultures and the languages they speak. The acceptance of minority and migrant languages is also under threat.
 

The mission of the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML) is to promote excellence and innovation in language education practice. It works with language professionals to develop research-informed solutions to key challenges in language education. It runs four-year programmes which provide the framework for multilateral development projects, organises in-country capacity building and runs a range of activities for a wider public.

The ECML coordinates the European Day of Languages each year on 26 September, which promotes the continent’s rich linguistic diversity and highlights the many and varied benefits of language learning. It is celebrated by hundreds of thousands of language learners and teachers worldwide.

The ECML plans to directly involve over one thousand language education professionals each year in its faceto-face activities, running several thousand webinars and online activities.

The ECML engages with civil society through its professional network forum which meets annually in Graz, Austria. This forum, which was established in 2010, currently brings together 16 international associations and institutions that share the core values of the Council of Europe and its commitment to plurilingual and intercultural education. Each member has a particular focus within the broad field of language education such as higher education, informal/non-formal learning or topical subjects and provides a unique platform for INGOs to share expertise and know-how. Members work together on topics of major relevance in language education; most recently the future of language education in the light of Covid – lessons learned and ways forward.