Qui ten la lenga, ten la clau (The one who guards the language, keeps the key). Frédéric Mistral – Nobel Prize 1904, motto of the XV Ostana Prize.
The NPLD will be attending the XV edition of the Ostana Prize, taking place on the 23rd, 24th and 25th of June 2023 in Ostana, a small Italian municipality in the Alps. The mission of the Ostana Prize is guarding and promoting linguistic biodiversity, thanks to the invitation of writers, players and filmmakers.
The increasing awareness of the importance of linguistic and cultural diversity led the community of Ostana to contribute to the recovery of its native language, the Occitan, and to implement an occasion where the language can be practiced. For this reason, in 2008 the “Ostana Prize: Writings in Mother Tongue” event was born, aimed at supporting and letting others know about the native languages of the world. The event’s organiser is the Chambra d’Òc, an association that operates in the field of language promotion through both local and international projects.
The Ostana Prize is in fact a celebration of the cultural biodiversity of humanity. The common goal is to listen to indigenous uncommon languages which want to be alive despite all obstacles, and through them discover the stories of the people who speak them. The native languages represented at the Ostana Prize have the common characteristic of being relegated to a condition of unequal opportunities compared to the dominant language of their reference states.
Born from the desire to know and make known writers, filmmakers, and musicians from different parts of the planet, the event has become a formidable opportunity to meet and exchange experiences with dozens of authors in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and in Oceania that illustrate and make the language of their community alive with their creative work.