The British linguist Robert Phillipson, a renowned activist denouncing linguistic imperialism, and professor Miquel Siguan i Soler, a strong promoter of multilingual education who died on 8 May, have been awarded the Linguapax Prize 2010.
The ceremony took place at the University of Barcelona (Aula Capella), on 21 May, which is the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. The Linguapax Prize is awarded every year to linguists, researchers, teachers and civil society members who have excelled in promoting linguistic diversity and multilingual education.
This year the only prize for promotion of linguistic diversity existing worldwide was given ex aequo to Miquel Siguan and Robert Phillipson, both outstanding for their long history in defence of multilingual education as a factor for peace and linguistic rights, against processes of linguistic and cultural homogenisation.
Because of the recent death of Miquel Siguan, the ceremony became a tribute to his career, largely devoted to promoting education of languages by integrating psycholinguistics, pedagogical and philosophical perspectives, in a thought and an action that drove him to make explicit the potential of multilingual education in processes of intercultural understanding and peace promotion. Siguan, who was professor emeritus at the University of Barcelona and honorary dean of the Faculty of Psychology, inspired the Linguapax philosophy itself. His daughter, Marisa Siguan, professor of German literature at the University of Barcelona, received the prize and read a speech of gratitude written by her father, in which he expressed his views on the evolution of languages in the education system throughout his experience.
On receiving his prize, Robert Phillipson, professor emeritus in the department of International Studies of Language and Computational Linguistics (Copenhagen Business School), known worldwide for his activism in denouncing linguistic imperialism and as an expert in the linkages between language and power and the dynamics of linguistic domination /
subordination, reiterated his conviction that "linguistic injustice is always related with the lack of political and economic power". He is pleased - he said - to participate in the efforts made by organisations such as Linguapax to highlight that linguistic politics can contribute to peace around the world. Phillipson, who is "not against English itself but against its perverse use in many contexts," stands up for a balance "between maintaining local languages for all local uses and developing international language skills for other purposes".

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Linguapax Prize 2010

Miquel Siguan i Soler passed away soon after receiving the prize