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Government approves Ukrainian language development program until 2030

by Olena Goncharova March 16, 2024 6:35 AM 2 min read

Ukrainian flag waving over Parliament in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Getty Images)

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Ukraine's government has greenlit a comprehensive program aimed at bolstering the Ukrainian language's role as the state language across all aspects of public life until 2030.

Crafted by the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, the initiative aims to counteract Russification effects while promoting wider adoption and utilization of the Ukrainian language.

Acting Culture Minister Rostyslav Karandieiev emphasized the program's dual focus on domestic language promotion and international outreach, highlighting Ukraine's linguistic resilience.

By 2030, proficiency in the state language, adhering to Ukrainian spelling and standards, will be mandatory for all civil servants. Ukrainian will be the primary language for communication, office tasks, and information retrieval, with measures planned to assist business employees in mastering it.

The ministry aims for Ukrainians to predominantly speak Ukrainian in daily life, facilitated by access to high-quality cultural products and Ukrainian-language content. The program targets an ambitious goal: by 2030, 80% of Ukrainians should speak Ukrainian at home, and the proportion of Ukrainian-language cultural products is expected to rise from 55% to 85%.

Ukrainians are widely opposed to the use of the Russian language in official settings, with 81% against Russian being used as an official language in their region or as a state language, a poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) released on March 12 found.

Author: Olena Goncharova

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