UNESCO, Motorola and the Lenovo Foundation have renewed their collaboration in the framework of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (IDIL2022-2032), reaffirming a shared commitment to the preservation, revitalization and promotion of Indigenous languages, including in the digital ecosystem.
With up to half of the world’s estimated 7,000 languages at risk of disappearing by the end of the century, the collaboration reflects the multistakeholder spirit of the Global Action Plan of IDIL2022-2032, which recognizes the growing role of private organizations in language preservation and digital empowerment.
A renewed contribution to the Decade
Through a new financial contribution to the Decade, Motorola and the Lenovo Foundation will support two priority areas over the next two years: strengthening governmental action through the development of locally relevant National Action Plans for Indigenous language revitalization and promoting the meaningful participation of Indigenous Peoples in international forums related to the Decade.
Partnerships such as this one are crucial to advancing the goals of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages. We greatly value the continued commitment and contribution of Motorola and the Lenovo Foundation to mobilizing expertise, resources and action to support Indigenous languages and the communities that sustain them.
Mariya GabrielAssistant Director-General for Communication and Information, UNESCO
This contribution builds on the partners’ existing collaboration under the Decade, including the Hello Indigenous white paper on the digitization of Indigenous languages, published by Motorola and the Lenovo Foundation in cooperation with UNESCO in 2024.
Our partnership with UNESCO has been the cornerstone of our Digital Inclusion initiative with Lenovo and Motorola over the past five years. I am deeply proud of what we have achieved together and thrilled to renew this collaboration. I look forward to driving an even greater impact in the years ahead.
Janine OliveiraLenovo ED Business Development and ESG Initiative Leader on Endangered Minority Languages
Hello indigenous
Motorola Mobility
Lenovo Foundation
2023
A blueprint on the preservation of endangered indigenous languages through digital inclusion
Bringing language and culture to mobile technology
Motorola’s engagement with Indigenous languages dates back to 2021, when it became the first smartphone manufacturer to fully support Nheengatu, an endangered Amazonian Indigenous language, in its user interface. Through the Lenovo Foundation’s Indigenous Languages Initiative, the company has since expanded its efforts to bring Indigenous languages into mobile technology.
In July 2026, Motorola launched the Indigenous Collections App, developed in collaboration with members of the Rainy Lake Ojibwe community and language experts. The app combines language learning with cultural knowledge, offering users access to Ojibwe vocabulary, oral histories, narratives and information about culturally significant places. Its community-centered approach ensures that Indigenous language keepers have a say in what knowledge is shared.
Partnering with Motorola and the Lenovo Foundation helps us capture the voices of our elders, ensuring the teaching embedded in the Ojibwe language is passed on from our ancestors to generations to come.
Jason JonesOjibwe Language Educator, Canada
Artwork by Storm Angeconeb, Lac Seul First Nation, Canada, for the Indigenous Collection App
Storm Angeconeb
The United Nations General Assembly (Resolution A/RES/74/135) proclaimed 2022-2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages to raise global awareness of the urgent need to preserve, revitalize and promote Indigenous languages worldwide. UNESCO’s Communication and Information Sector leads the Decade’s implementation in cooperation with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and other relevant UN Agencies.