How successful are 'International Years of x'? What can one do to promote success for the International Year of Languages, both in 2008 and into the future?

Acclaimed linguist, David Crystal, wrote a thought-provoking presentation for the European Day of Languages on 26 September last year, in which he addressed these questions. His summary is that we need a LADDA: Locations (museums, places to go to find out about languages); Awards (recognising outstanding work in linguistics and the preservation of languages); Days (annual days celebrated as festivals: 21 February is International Mother Language Day and various dates are celebrated as World Languages Day); reliable Data (on language diversity and use); and Artworks (to commemorate languages). The full text is available at What do we do with an International Year of Languages?