01
International Decade of Indigenous Languages (IDIL)
Convening the national steering committee, coordinating PNG's decade action plan, and reporting national progress to UNESCO through to 2032.
04Programme
Information & Communication Programme
Leading PNG's response to the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, and strengthening documentary heritage and access to information.
Overview
With more than 800 living languages, Papua New Guinea holds roughly a tenth of all languages spoken on earth — and many are at risk of falling silent. The Information & Communication programme leads the national response through the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (IDIL 2022–2032).
The programme's work spans language documentation and revitalisation, documentary heritage under the Memory of the World Programme, and UNESCO's mandate on freedom of expression, media development and universal access to information.
Because language loss accelerates where a language has no place in schooling, media or public life, the programme deliberately links its work back to the Education and Culture sectors — mother-tongue instruction, community radio, digital archives and locally produced materials.
Key activities
5 workstreams
02
Language documentation & revitalisation
Supporting recording, orthography development, dictionaries and community language nests, with priority given to languages with few remaining speakers.
03
Memory of the World
Identifying and nominating documentary heritage of national significance — manuscripts, recordings, photographs and archives — and improving preservation practice.
04
Media development & access to information
Working with journalists, community radio and public institutions on media literacy, safety of journalists and open access to public information.
05
Digital inclusion
Promoting affordable, multilingual digital access so that indigenous languages and local knowledge are present online, not absent from it.
Areas of focus
- IDIL 2022–2032 national coordination
- Endangered language documentation
- Documentary heritage preservation
- Media literacy and access to information
Working with
- National Library & Archives
- Summer Institute of Linguistics & language researchers
- Community radio and media organisations
- Language communities and speakers