About

Vision:  

Facing unprecedented crises threatening our world – whether it is climate change, wars, or infringements of women’s and minorities’ rights – it is vital for our societies, as a whole, to organize themselves.

Therefore we envision a world where the other is recognized and accepted, where strangers share their stories and come together to better the world.

Mission: 

We are a non-profit organisation that creates space for peaceful understanding through safe and respectful global dialogue in a collaborative, constructive, and inclusive platform. 

Our events and content give a voice to scholars, thinkers, and activists from groups which are rarely represented outside regular academic circles, – including women, the “Global Souths”, individuals with disabilities, indigenous people, LGBTQI+, among others – raising awareness to current issues, and recognizing intersectional perspectives. 

As understanding the world is the first step to changing it, we aim to create reflection that may foster collaboration and inspire change to benefit all stakeholders, humans and non-humans.

What is “Lingua Franca”?

Lingua Franca was an oral language used in the Mediterranean region from the Middle-Age to the nineteenth century. If it was a mix usually based on Romance languages, it also contained components of other language families, such as Arabic or Turkish. Lingua Franca was used as a diplomatic and trade language, but also as a mean of integration between travelers and locals.1

Our name, “Lingua Franca”, as well as the campfire – our logo – symbolize our will to bring people together to share their knowledge and experience, building bridges of common understanding. 

  1.  Source: Jocelyne Dakhlia, Lingua Franca: une langue métisse pour l’histoire de quelle Méditerranée?, La Clé des Langues [en ligne], Lyon, ENS de LYON/DGESCO (ISSN 2107-7029), mai 2010. Consulté le 19/05/2025. URL: https://cle.ens-lyon.fr/langues-et-langage/langues-et-langage-en-societe/langues-et-usages-en-societe/lingua-franca-une-langue-metisse-pour-l-histoire-de-quelle-mediterranee ↩︎