About the Collaborative

Shifting patterns of migration have direct implications on the daily life of communities across North Carolina. The Institute for the Study of Americas (ISA) at UNC Chapel Hill views language access as an important first step towards civic engagement, representative leadership, and public participation of newly arrived residents of North Carolina. The Language Access Collaborative strengthens efforts to build capacity, develop expertise and experience, and inform public policy.

Towards this end, ISA and the Building Integrated Communities Initiative (BIC) launched the Language Access Collaborative in 2023, bringing together teams of North Carolina local governments and community-based organizations to build bridges of communication.

Nine local governments partnered with community-based organizations to form teams of Collaborative participants. Teams from Apex, Buncombe, Concord, High Point, Morrisville, New Hanover, Raleigh, Wilmington and Winston-Salem are highlighted in yellow on the map below.

What We Do:

Through in-person language access summits and monthly virtual workshops, the Language Access Collaborative provides teams with the opportunity to learn about current language access best practices and policies and hear directly from immigrant leaders and language access practitioners.

The Collaborative also hosts periodic “chats” for more informal exchange of ideas and resources between teams. Local teams collect data and conduct assessments to create language access plans, with BIC staff providing technical support when needed.

Visit resources for Collaborative videos and handouts on promising practices in language access.

Resources