What should communities be doing today to prepare for the future?

Short Answer #

Collect language resources, organize them, preserve them, govern them, and continue building community capacity.

Expanded Answer #

Many communities ask: “What should we do right now?” The answer is surprisingly consistent. Focus on foundations. Examples include:

• Recording speakers
• Preserving stories
• Creating transcripts
• Building dictionaries
• Organizing metadata
• Developing educational resources
• Strengthening governance
• Building language infrastructure

These investments create opportunities regardless of what future technologies emerge. Strong foundations remain valuable. Technology changes. Language resources endure.