The University of Edinburgh in Scotland recently hosted the inaugural meeting of the International Association for Minority Language Media Research (IAMLMR), initiated by Prof Abiodun Salawu, Director of the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Indigenous Language Media in Africa (ILMA) research entity
Prof Salawu proposed the idea of establishing an association to serve as a platform for researchers working in minority, indigenous and ethnic media to network, share ideas and collaborate.
The inaugural meeting took place on the sidelines of a conference themed ”Crowded out or limitless horizons? Minority language media in the digital age”. The conference was organised by the Etxepare Basque Institute and the University of Edinburgh and was held on 16 and 17 October 2019.
Attendees agreed on the need to contribute to the field in a positive and pragmatic way that would require little administration, but have a substantial impact on further developing the field of study.
The gathering recognised that although the field of minority, indigenous and ethnic language media has grown in Europe, it is still a marginalised discipline. This discipline is currently not commanding the level of funding required for more intensive international exchange, including attendance at global conferences, exchange projects and comparative field work.
Undeterred, the researchers present decided to take a collective step and establish an international association for the research on minority language media to connect researchers across the world.
The association plans to hold its first conference as part of the 18th International Conference on Minority Languages, which will take place in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain in March 2021.
Prof Abiodun Salawu from the NWU’s campus in Mahikeng (second from left) spearheaded the launch of the International Association for Minority Language Media Research. With him are colleagues from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
