On October 31, 2023, Iryna Bohatiuk, Director of the Legal Clinic of the National Aviation University, together with student consultants Yana Redka and Mariana Denysiuk, took part in a webinar on the topic "Language Law: How to Protect Your Right", dedicated to the Day of Ukrainian Writing and Language.
The event was organised for the heads and students of legal clinics to discuss important aspects and topical issues in the field of language policy of Ukraine.
The speaker was Yaroslava Vitko-Prysyazhnyuk, representative of the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language. "The Ukrainian language has been subject to a policy of linguistic violence for centuries, which continues to be implemented in the temporarily occupied territories. Therefore, today the issue of the functioning of the state language is, without exaggeration, a matter of national security", - said Ms Yaroslava, opening the meeting.
During the webinar, the participants got acquainted with the provisions of the main legal acts on the protection of the Ukrainian language, in particular, they found out the scope of language legislation, the range of persons who are obliged to speak the state language and use it in the performance of their official duties, and learned about the peculiarities of legal liability for relevant offences. The speaker also spoke about the work of the Secretariat of the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language, and revealed the algorithm of actions for protecting the right to use the state language.
At the end of the meeting, the participants had a lively discussion about defining the boundaries between private communication and the areas of public life in which Ukrainian should be used as the state language, as well as the appropriateness of using words of foreign origin.