The Consell Nacional de la Llengua approved a triennial strategy with 20 objectives and 22 measures to boost

The Consell Nacional de la Llengua this week approved Andorra’s first National Action Plan for Catalan, a triennial strategy for 2026–2028 that sets 20 specific objectives and 22 concrete measures to strengthen the language’s use, knowledge and public presence across institutions, schools, organisations and society. Ministers Ladislau Baró and Mònica Bonell, co‑presidents of the council, called the approval a “historic” first implementation of the new language‑policy framework. The plan was prepared under director Joan Sans of the Department of Language Policy.

The programme is built around two main axes: consolidating institutional commitment to Catalan and reinforcing its knowledge and everyday use across all age groups. To update the evidence base, it foresees a general linguistic survey in 2026—the statutory quadrennial study—and a specific study of secondary‑school pupils and teaching staff in 2028, reviving a school survey not carried out since 2012. The government has allocated €9,200 for the general survey plus €2,500 for design and editing.

Institutional measures include ensuring uniform application of Law 6/2024 in higher education, marking International Mother Language Day (21 February) with institutional events, and public campaigns such as “Parla’m en català” aimed at curbing language shift. The plan also foresees creating a grant line in 2027 to support organisations that promote Catalan, with cultural groups such as Cultura Activa and Plataforma per la Llengua cited as potential beneficiaries.

Education is a central focus. The plan calls for a 2026–27 awareness campaign to promote Catalan in playgrounds, dining halls and other student spaces, emphasising incentives rather than coercion. Measures include awarding extra points in ministry recruitment contests to monitors, bus drivers and other school staff who demonstrate language skills beyond legal requirements, to encourage Catalan use around schools. A parallel campaign for newly arrived residents, coordinated between the central administration and the communes, aims to promote early use of Catalan from the moment of settlement.

For adults, the plan proposes expanding free public Catalan courses and potentially opening two new Catalan centres—one in Sant Julià de Lòria and another in the central valley—during the triennium. For pupils it foresees accelerated Catalan programmes for newly arrived students, more school contests and activities (short films, stories, spelling, songs and podcasts), an expanded school reading programme across the country’s three education systems, and the development of educational video games.

The plan allocates funding for media and digital promotion: €4,000 annually for a podcast project to document and preserve Andorran speech, proposed annual support of around €40,000 for digital content creators, and the planned 2027 grant line for organisations that promote Catalan. It also foresees events to bring content creators to Andorra and other measures to boost Catalan in the digital sphere.

Sectoral actions target commerce, sport, tourism and professional fields. Retail outlets will receive language kits; sports federations and clubs will be encouraged to increase Catalan in communications and to offer language training for commentators, referees, coaches and communications staff through agreements; a tourism campaign under the working title “Discover Andorra in Catalan” is planned; specialised vocabularies and sectoral training will be developed; and companies with more than 30 employees are encouraged to include Catalan training in staff development plans.

Implementation responsibility will be shared among the central administration, the communes and the social and economic fabric of the Principality. A technical coordination body, the Junta de Coordinació per a la Llengua i la Formació, will oversee agreements, indicators, calendars and delivery. The plan includes indicators and estimated budgets for each measure.

Officials linked the initiative to recent demographic and social trends: rapid post‑pandemic population growth driven largely by immigration from Spanish‑speaking countries has reduced everyday Catalan use in some sectors, notably commerce and tourism. Joan Sans said the plan adopts a pedagogical approach—privileging encouragement, resources and incentives rather than imposition—and reaffirmed the principle of individual linguistic freedom. Ministers Baró and Bonell presented the plan as a starting point and acknowledged substantial work remains for implementation.

Opposition voices welcomed the measures but called for stricter enforcement of existing rules. Cerni Escalé, leader of the parliamentary opposition group Concòrdia, urged the government to activate inspection and sanction mechanisms provided by law, warning that Catalan use remains “residual” in parts of the commercial sector and stressing that promotion must be accompanied by effective compliance.