Dr Brian Davis of ADAPT at DCU attended the inaugural event for the launch of the Alliance for Language Technologies – European Digital Infrastructure Consortium (ALT-EDIC), at the Villers-Cotterêts Castle, Paris from 18-20th March. The three-day working sessions included:
Dr Eoin O Droighneáin, Principal Officer of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, was also in attendance as a representative of Ireland at this landmark event in the history of language technologies in Europe.
As a leading expert in Irish language technology, Dr. Davis played a key role in showcasing how academics and researchers in Ireland are committed to advancing language technologies and digital language support on the European stage, demonstrating Ireland’s active participation in shaping Europe’s digital linguistic future. Dr. Davis was also electedto the ALT-EDIC Supervisory Board, a high-level advisory and mentoring body, composed of leading experts in European language technologies. This prestigious appointment reflects Dr Davis’s expertise and the growing influence of Irish language technology in Europe.
ALT-EDIC
The Alliance for Language Technologies (ALT-EDIC) is an EU-wide body established in 2023 to promote excellence in language technology and preserve Europe’s linguistic diversity. It includes 17 full-status members and 8 observer Member States and regions, with Ireland as a founding member. Its mission is to create a common European data infrastructure and services for language technologies, strengthening Europe’s technological competitiveness while supporting cultural diversity. A key focus is addressing the scarcity of high-quality digital data for European languages, which will help develop state-of-the-art AI solutions capable of processing and generating content in languages like Irish.
Language Data Space (LDS)
The European Language Data Space (LDS) is the digital European marketplace for and around text, video and audio data in different languages. This initiative, which began in January 2023, is coordinated by Germany’s DFKI and builds on the European Language Resource Coordination (ELRC) initiative, a previous effort in multilingual language data collection. The LDS will provide data to the ALT-EDIC, helping it develop language technology tools. While the ALT-EDIC is Member State-led, the LDS focuses on data governance and accessibility, funded under the European Commission’s Digital Programme.
LLMs4EU Project
The LLMs4EU project aims to preserve European linguistic and cultural diversity in the digital age by ensuring that all EU languages are included in generative AI development. It involves over 60 organizations from over 20 countries and will create datasets and tools to cover all EU languages. Researchers from ADAPT at DCU will be particularly involved, among other tasks, in working on the use-case dedicated to applications of AI to public sector services, in partnership with other Irish consortium members, such as the broadcaster TG4. The project started in March 2025 and is due to run for three years.
