OWL+ aimed to innovate in curriculum building for and about endangered languages by contextualising them within the big picture of language diversity in Europe and by providing stakeholders with tools to help them foster the transmission of endangered RMLs. The project aims were to: 1) support RML teachers and community members in the creation and enhancement of curricula, while making use of local resources and digital methods; 2) empower speakers and learners of endangered RMLs to create new domains of use through education and social entrepreneurship; 3) develop a set of digital didactic materials, free of charge for communities across Europe and the wider public, regardless of the nature of their interest in language; and 4) raise awareness of European linguistic diversity in an optimistic tone, fostering a positive attitude towards multilingualism in mainstream education. The target audiences were primarily schools (i.e. teachers, trainees, and school staff) from areas where an endangered RML is spoken, and community leaders (i.e. associations, councils, and cultural initiative leaders) that are investing in RML maintenance. OWL+ was committed to provide tools to empower them to take ownership of their cultural heritage.
In Europe, hundreds of languages, especially regional or minority languages (RMLs), are endangered, as they are not being passed on to the younger generations, are under-resourced, and are progressively disappearing. There is an urgent need to support such under-resourced language communities to strengthen their RMLs, promote linguistic diversity, and develop language resources. The five consortium members work on research, documentation, and education regarding RMLs, e.g. Latgalian (LV), Mirandese (PT), South Saami (NO), and West Frisian (NL). Based on the conviction that 1) language maintenance and development must be driven by the RML community; 2) educators are key actors in RML vitality; and 3) connecting RML communities across Europe can strengthen each group, OWL+ aimed to support and innovate curriculum building for and about threatened languages, done for and with the RML community members in order to create practical tools to help them foster the transmission of the RML. As such, it supported educators of under-resourced RMLs in their needs for more and transferable RML activities, more knowledge about RMLs in Europe, and a need for exchange with RML community members and educators.