Tilde and UNESCO partner to break language barriers in Small Island Developing States 

At Tilde, we are proud to announce the signing of our first cooperation agreement with UNESCO — a milestone partnership aimed at strengthening multilingual inclusion across Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The agreement was signed on 25 November 2025 at UNESCO Headquarters by UNESCO’s Assistant-Director-General for Natural Sciences, Lidia Brito, and our CEO, Artūrs Vasiļevskis, in the presence of H.E. Andris Pelšs, Permanent Representative of Latvia to UNESCO and the OECD. 

Why this matters: language inclusion for SIDS 

Small Island Developing States are among the world’s most linguistically diverse regions — with official and vernacular languages including English, Portuguese, French, Spanish, Dutch, and a wide range of regional and Creole languages. While this diversity is a cultural strength, it can also create significant challenges in accessing development opportunities and engaging with global institutions. In many SIDS, especially those operating in languages other than English or French, language barriers limit participation in UNESCO’s programmes and increase communication and outreach costs. 

Through this partnership, we at Tilde are committing our advanced AI-powered language technologies to help overcome these barriers. As part of the cooperation, Tilde will support UNESCO with our AI solution Tilde Event Assistant, which will provide real-time translation and transcription services for UNESCO’s events, seminars, and workshops. Tilde Event Assistant delivers real-time multilingual translation in both written and spoken form, significantly enhancing opportunities for SIDS to participate in international discussions. The solution will be particularly valuable for Dutch-, French-, Portuguese-, and Spanish-speaking SIDS, enabling them to fully engage in dialogue with UNESCO and its partners even when events bring together participants from multiple language communities. 

A shared commitment to multilingual inclusion 

Together with UNESCO, we will work to ensure that language is never a barrier to inclusion for SIDS. Tilde will contribute its state-of-the-art translation tools and language technologies — enabling real-time, high-quality translation and communication — so that communities across SIDS can express themselves and be understood in their own languages. 

During the signing ceremony, our translation technology supported communication in English, Latvian, and Portuguese, allowing participants to experience directly how language technologies can bridge linguistic divides. 

As our CEO Artūrs Vasiļevskis noted: “Thanks to our technologies, communities in Small Islands can be heard and understood.” 

In her remarks, Lidia Brito emphasized that Tilde’s readiness to share its expertise reflects a spirit of solidarity that is “urgently needed in today’s global context.” 

Looking ahead: enabling inclusive, language-diverse futures 

This cooperation illustrates how Tilde and UNESCO are advancing more language-inclusive approaches to support SIDS. By removing language barriers and expanding access to digital tools, the partnership contributes to UNESCO’s 2023–2029 Operational Strategy for SIDS — enabling island communities to engage more fully in shaping resilient and sustainable futures. 

UNESCO is already deploying Tilde’s machine-translation applications in several ongoing initiatives — including projects in Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking island countries, as well as in programmes such as “IslandWatch” and the Center of Excellence for blue-economy research and training. These tools help countries, partners, and UNESCO experts collaborate more effectively with national stakeholders, strengthening communication and cooperation.