Partners in Language Development
Welcome to the Office of International Relations
Around the world, communities are discovering that by using their own
language in new areas of their lives, they are developing solutions to the
challenges they face. Through language development, SIL International
assists in strengthening ethnolinguistic communities worldwide.
SIL's service is founded on the principle that communities should be able
to pursue their goals without sacrificing their ethnolinguistic identity.
SIL makes its services available to all without regard to religious belief,
political ideology, gender, race or ethnic background. Since its founding in
1934, SIL has received a number of national and international recognitions
and awards.
As a nongovernmental organization, SIL has Special Consultative Status
with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and
Consultative Status with the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). SIL is a founding member of Maaya,
the World Network for Linguistic Diversity. SIL is the registration
authority for ISO 639-3 codes for the representation of names of
languages.
SIL's International Relations Office exists to promote goodwill and
facilitate effective cooperation between SIL, governments,
policy-makers, and other international organizations. The International
Relations Office also supports—as part of its on-going global involvement—SIL's participation in international conferences and workshops focusing on
language development, language revitalization and multilingual education in
ethnolinguistic communities.
Office of International Relations
1701 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 105, Arlington, VA 22209-2700
Phone: 800-219-4924