ICML History

The first International Conference on Minority Languages (ICML) was held in Glaschu/Glasgow, Scotland, in 1980, and was sponsored by the Association for Scottish Literary Studies (ASLS). This inaugural event was attended by 100 participants from 19 European countries. Since then, the conference has moved between different European countries.

Initially held every three or four years, from its VIII edition in Santiago de Compostela in 2001 onwards, the conference has been held biennially. In 2025, the XX edition took place in Bogotá for the first time outside Europe.

Further information on the history of the conference can be found in Durk Gorter's article: Minority Languages Today: short history of the International Conferences on Minority Languages (1980-2009).