ILARA Receives a Medal from the Singer-Polignac Foundation

This year, the Institute for Linguistic Heritage and Diversity (ILARA) was honoured to receive one of two medals of the Singer-Polignac Foundation.

On 19 September 2024, the Singer-Polignac Foundation Medal was awarded to ILARA by Michel Zink, Vice-President of the Foundation and a member of the Académie française.

Jean-Noël Robert, President of the ILARA Board of Directors, delivered a speech on the occasion, highlighting the significance of rare and precious languages—whether they are ancient and known only through their written remnants or still spoken and passed down through oral tradition. In a world that is becoming increasingly uniform, these languages are valuable not only to their native speakers and learners but also to the scholars who study them, and to the broader public, who gain fresh insights into diverse worldviews.

ILARA’s mission is to contribute to the preservation and promotion of these languages and their cultures, engaging with the wider public through its educational programs and scientific outreach.

In 1928, Winnaretta Singer, Princess Edmond de Polignac, solidified her commitment to artistic, literary and scientific patronage by establishing the Singer-Polignac Foundation. In cooperation with Raymond Poincaré and Maurice Paléologue, she laid the groundwork for her philanthropic endeavours. Following the princess’s passing in 1943, the foundation has continued its operations from its mansion near the Trocadéro in Paris. In 2021, the Singer-Polignac Foundation was formally recognised as a public interest entity.

Since 2020, it has been under the chairmanship of Professor Pierre Corvol, a member of the Academy of Sciences, a professor emeritus at the Collège de France and an honorary administrator of the Collège de France.

Each year, the members of the Board of Directors of the Singer-Polignac Foundation honour deserving associations or companies involved in the arts and sciences or leading sociocultural projects.

Foundation website : https://singer-polignac.org/fr/