One of the key insights to emerge from the literature on global language revitalization over the past half century is just how complex an enterprise it is, with no quick fixes or one-size-fits-all solutions. Revitalization is a multi-faceted and multi-generational social project, requiring communities to draw on a wide range of knowledge, skills, and resources in order to design, implement, and sustain successful programs.

When we consider the full range of activities that communities commonly undertake in an attempt to maintain, revitalize, or revive their languages—from designing community language surveys to creating language immersion curricula for local schools, to developing a digital archive of language resources, to writing a bilingual dictionary, to carrying out online language classes for community members living away from home, among many others—it quickly becomes apparent that the set of skills that communities need to call upon to achieve their objectives is both large and diverse. For many communities, however, it has been a challenge both to identify the skills needed to carry out specific activities, as well as to gain access to the specialized training that would allow them to acquire those skills.

DISTILS will bring together skills trainers around the world to discuss, share, and develop ideas to support skills training in intergenerational language sustainability.