OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities convenes roundtable on multilingual education with education ministers from Central Asia and Mongolia

OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Christophe Kamp and Turkmenistan’s Education Ministry hosted a ministerial roundtable on multilingual education in Ashgabat on 22 October 2026. 

The roundtable was attended by education ministers and ministerial representatives from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, together with representatives of international organizations and academia.

Speaking on behalf of the High Commissioner,* Eleonora Lotti, HCNM Senior Adviser and Head of Section, drew attention to the particular character of the region, where the languages are spoken across state borders in every direction. “Almost every state language represented at this table is also a mother-tongue spoken by communities across a border,” she said. 

“A child who cannot follow the language of the classroom is not only shut out of one part of school, they are shut out of all of it, no matter how well the school is resourced,” Lotti said. She also stressed the value of language-in-education policy for society as a whole. “Education systems that give children a secure footing in their first language as well as a genuine command of the state language instil a strong sense of belonging, which leads to trust, stability and a more cohesive society, which can prevent tensions from taking root,” she said.

The delegations discussed how they can address common challenges together. They identified the availability and training of teachers able to teach through more than one language, the development and sharing of teaching materials and subject terminology, and educational data and assessment as areas that could benefit from more co-operation. The delegations reached a tentative agreement on a joint communiqué on fostering regional co-operation through multilingual education in Central Asia and Mongolia. 

The event builds on the HCNM’s long-term inter-state dialogue on social integration and the education of national minorities, which began 20 years ago. This initiative also included the Central Asia Education Programme, which was implemented by the office of the HCNM and UNICEF between 2012 and 2021.

The roundtable also marked the 30th anniversary of The Hague Recommendations Regarding the Education Rights of National Minorities.

* Due to unforeseen circumstances, the High Commissioner was unable to travel to Ashgabat.