OSCE-supported study tour to Finland for Belarusian officials to focus on use of two official languages

HELSINKI, 21 September 2010 - Officials and researchers from Belarus are on an OSCE-supported two-day study tour to Finland which started today to learn more about the practice of the implementation of two official languages in the country.

Experts from the Belarusian National Centre for Legislation and Legal Research, Justice Ministry, Culture Ministry, the Belarusian State University and the Secretariat of the Parliament will meet with representatives of Government departments, Swedish minority organizations, and mass media outlets to understand how Swedish and Finish languages are used in their work.

"Language is a key component of any country's historical identity. The OSCE is supporting the Belarusian government's request to study how other countries work at an official level using two official languages. With this study tour, we seek to help the Belarusian government is its efforts to find practical ways of strengthening the status of the Belarusian language in the country," said Benedikt Haller, the Head of the OSCE Office in Minsk.

The two official languages of Belarus are Belarusian and Russian. While most Belarusians speak both languages, the Belarusian language is not used in official government documents or in the daily working environment at government offices. There are several universities that offer some courses in the Belarusian language. Most universities conduct courses only in the Russian language.

Earlier this year Belarusian experts took part in an OSCE-supported study tour to Ireland where they learned about the status of the Irish language vis-à-vis English. The delegation met with representatives of the Irish government who shared with the Belarusian counterparts their experience of implementing a strategy to develop a sense of pride in the Irish language among the population of Ireland.

Experts from Belarus intend to use the results of the study tours to Ireland and Finland for the development of a strategy for Belarus in order to preserve the use of Belarusian for future generations.