News from the Board: Farewell to those leaving

It is with bittersweet emotion that we announce the departure of three longstanding Board members this quarter. 

Lauren Gawne

Lauren Gawne has been involved with Living Languages in many roles over many years; as one of the movers and shakers who got ‘Linguistics in the Pub’ going, as a consultant to help re-draft the constitution of the then RNLD Inc., as Secretary of the Board and most recently as our President. Lauren’s term as President, from February 2020, though short, was very intense and challenging, with the departure of our then CEO and the onset of COVID-19 among other issues meaning that she faced considerable responsibilities handled with grace and competence. Lauren’s commitment to language diversity is strong, her work on languages in the Himalaya and building capacity for community members is continuing and her association with Living Languages will remain. Through her podcast, Lingthusiasm, she brings a new generation of students and people interested in language to great knowledge of the extraordinary diversity of language.

Knut Olawsky

Knut Olawsky (aka KJ) is one of our longest serving Board members; giving advice to Living Languages from his expert perspective in running one of the most successful Language Centres in WA. Knut has attended our Board meetings, mostly by Skype and more recently by Zoom, with regularity and commitment and has always offered good sound advice when called for. We had planned a face to face strategic planning day that was overwhelmed by COVID-19, a chance to meet him in person. His commitment to language diversity is grounded in research on languages and empowerment of smaller language communities, on several continents, in Ghana and in Peru as well as Australia.

Simona Scarparo

Simona Scarparo joined the Board of the then Research Network for Linguistic Diversity, now Living Languages, five years ago as, in effect, a friend of a friend. Her commitment to the task of Treasurer has been reliable and consistent through some challenging times, and her involvement in Living Languages is, at least in part, due to her own family’s traditional language, Sardinian (Sardu) which like so many languages in Europe is rapidly being lost. Though not a linguist, Simona’s understanding of and sympathy for the work of Living Languages has been demonstrated over and over and we are very grateful to her for taking care of the job of Treasurer for the last 5 years.

With heartfelt thanks we farewell each of these three people, and hope they carry with them a sense of fulfilment, from having been an important part of Living Languages for many years.