ELE: A New EU Project Aiming to Achieve Full Digital Language Equality By 2030

Sirma AI, trading as Ontotext, starts working on a new preparation project for developing an agenda and a roadmap for future research projects in the field of Digital Language Equality in Europe

Sofia/Bulgaria Monday, April 19, 2021

Project ELE (European Language Equality) is a pilot project that will lay the foundations for Digital Language Equality in Europe by 2030. It began on January 1st 2021 and will end on June 30th 2022. The project is funded through Pilot Project/Preparatory Action (PP/PA), which is a tool for formulating political priorities and introducing new initiatives that might turn into standing EU activities and programs.

ELE aims to address the challenges of linguistic discrimination and language barriers to communication and free flow of information in the EU. The project will draw up a sustainable evidence-based strategic research agenda and a roadmap to achieve full digital language equality of all languages used within the European Union through the effective use of language technologies. The recent breakthroughs in language technologies offer very cost-effective multilingual solutions.

By creating the conditions to ensure that no European languages remain under-resourced, ELE has the potential to influence the European language technologies landscape for the next 10-15 years. In this way, the project will contribute to establishing a fair, inclusive and sustainable Multilingual Digital Single Market based on equality. Putting all European languages on an equal footing will also act as a multiplier of opportunities. Finally, it will instigate regional, national and EU-wide collaboration among scientists from academia and industry.

Ontotext is one of 53 partners in the ELE project consortium and will contribute to all work packages but mainly in the work regarding The Future Situation in 2030 and in The Development of the Strategic Agenda and Roadmap. By their participation in the project, Ontotext hopes to advance the research, development and innovation in the field of language technologies, at European, national and regional levels.

ELE started with a virtual kick-off meeting on the 15th of January where the consortium partners were introduced and the project work packages were outlined.

Learn more about the ELE project!

For more information, contact Doug Kimball, Chief Marketing Officer at Ontotext