Multilingualism in publishing

In Mexico, linguistic diversity represents one of the country's greatest cultural wealth. With 68 national Indigenous languages and 364 linguistic variants, millions of people preserve knowledge, traditions, and ways of understanding the world that form an essential part of our collective identity. However, much of scientific production continues to be published exclusively in internationally dominant languages, limiting its accessibility and social impact.

Through the signing of the Helsinki Initiative on Multilingualism in Scholarly Communication, UAEMéx reaffirms its commitment to a more inclusive, accessible, and socially meaningful science. Within this framework, the Secretariat of Science will promote the publication of open books and other digital scientific outputs in both modern languages and local and Indigenous languages, with the aim of broadening the reach of knowledge and ensuring that information reaches communities in their own languages.

Publishing digital scientific content in Indigenous languages is not simply a matter of translating information; it also means recognizing the value of local knowledge and strengthening the dialogue between science and community. When knowledge is communicated in people´s mother tongues, it becomes easier to understand, appropriate, and apply in essential areas such as health, environment, agriculture, and social development.

Digital formats also allow books, research, and dissemination materials to circulate more openly, immediately, and accessibly, eliminating geographic and economic barriers. This enables students, educators, community outreach workers, and diverse social sectors to access information that is useful and relevant to their own contexts.

Opening science also means opening it culturally and linguistically. For this reason, this initiative seeks not only to generate scientific knowledge, but also to ensure that it can truly reach communities, be understood, and become a tool for social transformation across all communities and languages.

Since science can only generate a profound impact when it is communicated, understood, and embraced in the languages that form part of people’s identity.