Languages

Languages ​​are very important to RIPAM, an organization named after the meeting (Rencontres) of people of different origins (Internationales) and aiming to embrace the entire Mediterranean. During coffee breaks at RIPAM conferences, we sometimes ask a question in one language and get the answer in another, and perhaps they aren’t even the native languages ​​of those speaking them, yet we magically manage to communicate. RIPAM sees languages ​​as a tool for communication between people, for a dialogue that leads to construction, based on respect, languages ​​as bridges between peoples, even before being symbols of identity.

The founders of RIPAM identified three main languages ​​in the “Charta”:

	French, the common language of the founders of RIPAM
	Arabic, the common language of the southern shore of the Mediterranean
	English, the contemporary global language

The main structure of the www.ripam.org website (homepage, vision, common conference elements, charter, organization, statistics, etc.) is translated into all three of these main languages. These are the parts of the website that tend to have the least changes over time, and for which it was possible to maintain consistent communication across three languages, which also use different alphabets and writing styles.

With a view to inclusion, the www.ripam.org website also provides a voice for other languages ​​spoken throughout the Mediterranean basin. Since a complete and timely translation of such a wide variety of languages ​​is not feasible, the choice was made to create a single home page, outlining the main concepts and then inviting users to navigate the site in one of the main languages. Therefore, there is only one RIPAM home page for:

	Italian, the language of many RIPAM participants
	Portuguese, the language of some of the founders of the RIPAM network
	Greek, the language spoken today is the evolution of ancient Greek, which was widespread in ancient times in the Mediterranean
	Spanish, a language spoken both in the Mediterranean and worldwide
	Slovenian, language of a country that organized a RIPAM meeting
	Maltese, language of an island in the center of the Mediterranean, derives from the Arabic language with Latin, Italian, Sicilian and English influences.
	Latin, this language is no longer spoken, but two thousand years ago it was spoken throughout the Mediterranean, as were other languages ​​listed above in other eras. The presence of Latin on the site represents a playful bridge back in time

The website www.ripam.org is open to accepting new Mediterranean languages ​​and idioms in the future, hoping that technology will continue to assist us in supporting them.

There are parts of the www.ripam.org website that require frequent updates, such as the pages detailing individual conferences, especially when the conference is in preparation, and the news pages. We decided not to translate these pages, partly to reduce the risk of errors and publication delays that translations would entail, and certainly also to conserve energy and dedicate it to developing the site in other directions. We decided to leave these sections in English, considering that it is the language most likely to be understood by many today.

Some other content has been left in the original languages ​​in which it was available, for convenience.