From 8 to 10 May 2024, OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Kairat Abdrakhmanov visited Andorra where he learned about the country’s experience providing multilingual education in a diverse society with four predominant mother-tongue languages and three education systems.
During the visit, High Commissioner Abdrakhmanov met with Prime Minister Xavier Espot, Foreign Minister Imma Tor, Speaker of Parliament Carles Ensenyat, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Sandra Codina and several other parliamentarians, as well as the Permanent Representative to the OSCE Jaume Serra and other representatives of the authorities. In addition to discussing the educational context in Andorra, they also explored different issues related to diversity governance.
At a meeting with the Institutional Relations, Education and Universities Minister Ladislau Baró, Abdrakhmanov was informed about the three main education systems in Andorra, their multilingual objectives, the advantages of co-operating to develop school curricula to achieve a unified approach to history and other subjects, and the importance of ensuring that diplomas are recognized across the different education systems and by neighbouring states.
Abdrakhmanov also met with the Rector of the University of Andorra Miquel Nicolau and his team to hear how students from the different education systems transition to higher education, both in Andorra and outside the country.
As a result of several meetings with parent organizations and students, Abdrakhmanov heard about the importance placed on multilingual education in Andorra, including the employment advantages of attaining professional levels of competence in a number of languages. While attending a special Science Day event, in which students from the different systems took part, the High Commissioner was informed that the absence of language barriers is among the major factors in achieving a high level of social cohesion among the youth, including across ethnic and other demographic boundaries.
The High Commissioner also took the opportunity to meet with representatives of religious communities in Andorra to discuss the ways in which inter-faith and inter-confessional dialogue can strengthen social cohesion in a religiously diverse society.