Growing up as a 22-year-old half Vietnamese, half Dutch woman in the Netherlands, I deeply feel the impact of not speaking Vietnamese, the primary language of my mother’s side of the family. This language barrier often results in moments of distance, where jokes and stories that are the fabric of familial bonds are lost in translation. Understanding the complexity and challenges my mother faced migrating to the Netherlands at the age of 16 has only heightened my motivation to explore how we can use design to bridge communication gaps and form identities.

Across the globe, the youth with migration backgrounds find themselves losing touch with their cultural languages, leading to weakened communication, diminished understanding, and a frayed cultural connection with their families. 

We need more accessible and context-based solutions to preserve heritage languages within families. I propose a language learning app based on the input of your own parent(s) with a migration background. Additionally, the app features an option to keep practicing together outside the app, by making daily conversations/substituting words in the other language.

This initiative not only fosters linguistic preservation but enhances the sense of identity and inclusivity among young people with migration backgrounds.

I urge local governments, educational bodies, and cultural institutions to collaborate and fund my design. By investing in our youth, we preserve our cultural diversity and strengthen family bonds.

Join me in advocating for language preservation as an integral part of our multicultural society. Sign this petition to urge stakeholders to make language preservation a priority.