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What's Mercator?

Structure Mercator is a network of three research and documentation centres dealing with the minoritized languages of the European Union, spoken in total by more than forty million citizens.
Each centre has its own thematic programme and specialist role.

- Mercator-Education at the Fryske Akademy (Ljouwert, Friesland) focuses on the use of minoritzed languages in education;
- Mercator-Legislation at the CIEMEN (Barcelona, Catalonia) studies linguistic rights and legislation and the use of such languages in public administration;
- Mercator-Media at University of Wales (Aberystwyth, Wales) deals with the relationship between minoritized languages and the mass media, including the new technologies.

[mercator central]

Objectives The main objective of the Mercator network is to make available for students, researchers, scholars and opinion and policy makers, a specialized resource centre and an information service devoted to European minoritized languages. Accordingly, it also intends to create a space aimed at interchanging experiences and documentation between the different European language communities.

History Mercator was set up following a European Commission initiative aimed to cover the increasing interest for regional and minoritized languages and the growing need for an interchange of experiences and fostering of cooperation between the linguistic communities within the European context. By means of the Mercator network, access to information and its systematic interchange has been made possible.

Research centre As a research centre, Mercator-Legislation assembles a diversity of researchers and projects within the fields of sociolinguistics, glottopolitics and law. Its interdisciplinary character allows it to carry out a permanent monitoring work regarding the official recognition of languages, their juridical status and related regulation in force, or in process of development, that guarantee its public use.

Resource centre As a resource centre Mercator-Legislation offers its users:

- a documentation centre specialized in linguistic rights and legislation.
- a free information and consultancy service to which any person interested in minoritized languages may address.
- a permanent news service covering those legislative novelties or changes in the legal framework of minoritized languages.
- a service of periodical publications: Mercator-Bulletin, Mercator-Dossier, Mercator-Working Papers, Collection of books: CIEMEN-Linguistic Rights.