Mark Fettes | |
|---|---|
 Mark Fettes during the 100th World Congress of Esperanto, Lille (France), 2015 | |
| President of World Esperanto Association | |
| In office 2013–2019 | |
| Preceded by | Probal Dasgupta |
| Succeeded by | Duncan Charters |
Mark Fettes is an Esperantist and university professor of education,and former President of the World Esperanto Association,known by its Esperanto initials as UEA.
Fettes worked from October 1986 until January 1992 in the UEA central office as editor of the monthly magazine Esperanto . In this period he also re-established the UEA's public relations section;he has become known as a speaker and organizer. In 1990 he wrote an essay on the theme "One language for Europe," which won an award from the European Union Studies Association and later appeared as an official Esperanto document in several languages.
At the 77th World Congress in Vienna he was elected as a UEA board member,and in 1994 he accepted the position of secretary-general after the resignation of British Esperantist Ian Jackson. He was re-elected as secretary-general the following year,but in 1996 he resigned that post in favour of Italian Esperantist Michela Lipari,although he remained a board member until 1998. At the 81st World Congress in Prague,he launched the Prague Manifesto,a multilingual document which emphasizes democratic communication,language rights,preservation of language diversity and effective language education. Fettes also organized the first Nitobe symposium,organized as an homage to the Japanese author,educator and diplomat Nitobe Inazō;the symposium's proceedings later appeared in the book Al lingva demokratio ("Towards linguistic democracy").
In 1992 he became an editor of the Esperanto magazine Monato ,with a column La monda vilaĝo ("The global village"), [1] a position he held till 1995. Fettes began working with the Esperantic Studies Foundation (ESF) in 1995 and became its first director-general in 2000. In April 2001 he organized a seminar on Esperanto and education in Arlington,Virginia,part of the Washington,D.C. conurbation. The colloquium led to the creation of two educational website projects —edukado.net and lernu.net.
In 2010,after a 12-year absence from the UEA Komitato (its governing committee),Fettes went back as a category-B member (i.e.,a member-at-large). He proposed that the Komitato create a board for strategic questions;the Komitato accepted his proposal and chose him to guide the board.
At a July 20,2013 Komitato meeting held during the 98th World Congress of Esperanto in Reykjavik,Fettes was elected as the UEA's President. His role includes leading the board's "Managing development" team;he is responsible for the strategic workplan,finances,headquarters,congress policy,the World Esperanto Youth Organization (TEJO),the Center for Research and Documentation on World Language Problems and the UEA's website,uea.org [2]
Fettes learnt Esperanto as a 14-year-old boy in New Zealand,having been introduced to it by his uncle Christopher Fettes.
In 2000 he and his family moved to Vancouver;after a year as a postdoctoral researcher at Simon Fraser University,he became an assistant professor in the education faculty,where he still works. After joining the SFU faculty,Fettes joined the board of ESF,where he is currently its vice-president. In this role he was responsible for ESF's collaboration with the international youth non-profit organization E@I and the planning and development of various networking and other projects.
In 2003 he received a $1 million research grant to study the education of indigenous children. In 2010,along with a colleague,he shared a second $1 million research grant to develop an environmental public elementary school in the neighbouring city of Maple Ridge. [3] The school aims to teach children about the environment and raise awareness of ecological issues. Fettes is also conducting a study to examine the differences between outdoor experiential learning and more traditional textbook learning. [3]
Esperanto is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887,it was intended to be a universal second language for international communication,or "the international language". Zamenhof first described the language in Dr. Esperanto's International Language,which he published under the pseudonym Doktoro Esperanto. Early adopters of the language liked the name Esperanto and soon used it to describe his language. The word esperanto translates into English as "one who hopes".
Esperantujo or Esperantio is the Esperanto community;the community of speakers of the Esperanto language and their culture,as well as the places and institutions where the language is used. The term is used "as if it were a country."
L. L. Zamenhof developed Esperanto in the 1870s and '80s. Unua Libro,the first print discussion of the language,appeared in 1887. The number of Esperanto speakers have increased gradually since then,without much support from governments and international organizations. Its use has,in some instances,been outlawed or otherwise suppressed.
The World Esperanto Youth Organization is an organization dedicated to supporting young Esperanto speakers around the world and promote the use of Esperanto. TEJO was founded in 1938 as the Tutmonda Junular-Organizo and took its current name in 1952. In 1956,TEJO became the youth section of the Universal Esperanto Association (UEA). In 1971,the finances and administration of TEJO were fully integrated into those of UEA.
The Universal Esperanto Association,also known as the World Esperanto Association,is the largest international organization of Esperanto speakers,with 5501 individual members in 121 countries and 9215 through national associations and in official relations with the United Nations. In addition to individual members,70 national Esperanto organizations are affiliated with UEA. Its current president is the professor Duncan Charters. The magazine Esperanto is the main organ used by UEA to inform its members about everything happening in the Esperanto community.
The Esperantic Studies Foundation,abbreviatedESF is a non-profit organisation initiated in 1968 by Jonathan Pool,E. James Lieberman and Humphrey Tonkin,with the aim to further the understanding and practice of linguistic justice in a multicultural world,with a special focus on the study of interlinguistics and the role of Esperanto.
Literature in the Esperanto language began before the first official publication in Esperanto in 1887:the language's creator,L. L. Zamenhof,translated poetry and prose into the language as he was developing it as a test of its completeness and expressiveness,and published several translations and a short original poem as an appendix to the first book on the language,Unua Libro. Other early speakers wrote poetry,stories,and essays in the language;Henri Vallienne was the first to write novels in Esperanto. The first female Esperanto novelist was Edith Alleyne Sinnotte with her book Lilio published in 1918. Except for a handful of poems,most of the literature from Esperanto's first two decades is now regarded as of historical interest only.
The Delegation for the Adoption of an International Auxiliary Language was a body of academics convened in the early part of the 1900s (decade) to decide on the issue of which international auxiliary language should be chosen for international use. The ultimate decision of the committee charged by the Delegation was to adopt the Esperanto language,but with certain reforms. The result became a distinct language known as Ido.
The BaháʼíEsperanto League (BEL) is the official organization of Baháʼís who are Esperantists. It was founded on 19 March 1973 with the approval of the Universal House of Justice.
Finvenkismo is an ideological current within the Esperanto movement dating back to L. L. Zamenhof,the initiator of Esperanto. The name is derived from the concept of a fina venko denoting the moment when Esperanto will be used as the predominant second language throughout the world. A finvenkist is thus someone who hopes for or works towards this "final victory" of Esperanto. According to some finvenkists,this "final victory" of Esperanto may help eradicate war,chauvinism,and cultural oppression.
Hector Hodler was a Swiss Esperantist who had a strong influence on the early Esperanto movement.
Rüdiger Eichholz,was a Canadian physicist and Esperantist and a member of the Esperanto Academy. He is best known for publishing the "Esperanto picture dictionary" (1988) and a massive anthology co-edited with his wife,Esperanto in the Modern World (1982).
Osmo Buller is a Finnish Esperantist. He is General Director of the Universal Esperanto Association.
The President of the Universal Esperanto Association is the elected leader of the Universal Esperanto Association and the chief executive of the UEA steering committee (Estraro).
Hans Jakob Notz was a German-born Swiss Esperantist. His real name was Franz.
The Center for Research and Documentation on World Language Problems (CRD) is an international research foundation created to study,document,and educate people about language problems,intercultural communication and international relations throughout the world.
The Esperantist of the Year is an honorary designation bestowed each year by the editors of the Esperanto-language monthly La Ondo de Esperanto. The award recipient is selected by an international jury led by Halina Gorecka,the Russian publisher of the magazine.
Hans Michael Maitzen is an Austrian astronomer.
The World Esperantist Vegetarian Association is a voluntary association of Esperanto-speaking vegetarians. Founded in 1908,the group's working language is Esperanto,and it is the oldest international organization of vegetarians that is currently active. TEVA published a journal,Vegetarano ("Vegetarian") from 1914 to 1932,revived in 2009 as Esperantista Vegetarano,and has also operated a spirited Internet mailing list through Yahoo! Groups since 2005.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Esperanto:
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| General | |
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