The 2026 European calendar will feature two international conferences focusing on the future of languages in an increasingly digital and diverse society. Researchers in linguistics, translation, education, and cognitive science will gather in Toulouse and Rome to examine the evolution of multilingualism, language teaching, and global communication within today’s uncertain landscape. 

The first event will be the Conference on Multilingualism (COM 2026), held from May 27th to 29th, 2026, at the University Toulouse Jean-Jaurès. Originating from the former bilingualism workshops launched in 2005 at the University of Trento (Italy), this meeting will bring together experts in psycholinguistics, neuroscience, language acquisition, and discourse analysis. The 2026 edition will specifically focus on language control, a subject of intense debate in recent years, and acquired language disorders in multilingual speakers. 

Similarly, key discussions will include studies on the relationship between bilingual speakers and their environment, such as the perception of speech with particular accents. Furthermore, experts will explore whether multilingualism can help delay neurodegenerative diseases and improve the treatment of language disorders. Keynote speakers include specialists such as Mathieu Declerck (Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium), Alice Foucart (Nebrija University, Madrid), and neurologist Miguel Ángel Santos Santos (Sant Pau Memory Unit, Barcelona).

A few months later, from September 10th to 12th, 2026, the Italian capital will host the XIX CercleS Conference, held in Rome (Italy). This event is dedicated to the role of university language centers. The conference aims to analyze new social and educational challenges, such as the rise of Artificial Intelligence, new digital learning models, and the hegemony of English in the academic sphere.

In addition, the conference will address topics such as plurilingualism in higher education, language policies, and the use of digital tools in language learning. There will also be a discussion on whether these educational centers should transition from being support services to becoming spaces for pedagogical innovation within European universities.

Through these two encounters, the European educational community seeks to focus on how to protect and promote linguistic diversity as education and research increasingly adapt to a globalized, digital society. In this context, 2026 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for rethinking the role of languages in future communication and education.

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