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This article analyzes recent news-making initiatives by UNESCO and their implications for language policy on the international level. In particular, I focus on two conventions relevant to language policy-making, the ‘Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions’ (approved October 2005), and the ‘Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Heritage’ (which entered into force in April 2006). The adoption of the former was preceded by a widely publicized controversy regarding the status of cultural activities and goods in relation to international trade agreements and protectionism. The latter is a complement to the UNESCO World Heritage program that provides for a similar listmaking of expressions of intangible heritage (including oral traditions). I discuss both conventions in the light of media response and analyze their potential for driving language policy in Member States; and I conclude with a brief description of other UNESCO efforts at shaping language politics.
