ISLAMABAD: Local and international linguists advocated for integrating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into education at a moot on Sunday, stressing the importance of incorporating contextually relevant content into textbooks in sensitising students to environmental challenges.

Experts from Azerbaijan, Algeria, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman and Singapore deliberated ideas surrounding the role of language in finding localised solutions to pressing challenges during a two-day moot titled, `International Conference on Applied Linguistics` at Riphah International University Islamabad.

RiphahInternationalUniversityVice-Chancellor Prof Anis Ahmad reminded academia of their role in the decolonisation of linguistics and fostering universal values in their immediate surroundings.

Yamna Khan from the National University of Modern Languages stressed the need to develop content for textbooks to promote eco-literacy and raise awareness about linguistic strategies conducive to environmental protection.

Dr Mounya Mrabti and Dr Mouassine Fatima Ezzahra from Moulay Ismail University of Meknes highlighted the need to identify linguistic and visual elements that influence how we talk and think about the environment.

They also stressed the importance of using these elements to help students understand and interpret ecological themes.

Prof Safeer Awan, Dean Faculty of Art and Humanities, National University of Modern Languages Islamabad, emphasised the need to give greater importance to the political economy of culture than to the politics of identity.

He discouraged the trend to sacrifice local cultures at the altar of global imperatives.

Dr Gennady Medvedev of Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman, highlighted technology`s role in reducing learners` cognitive load by making classroom activities more engaging and enjoyable.

Dr Sareen Kaur Bhar of Multimedia University, Melaka, Malaysia, stressed the importance of institutional support for ChatGPT integration in teaching, including training, technical assistance and supportive policies.

Dr Maya Khemlani David of the University of Malaya, Malaysia, underlined instances of colourenacted racism in videos and publications, urging young people to be aware of this unconscious bias.

Oyebolu and Jinadu of the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Nigeria, explained that technology can readily improve language learning for students in remote areas, particularly girls facing unique challenges.

Dr Arshad Mahmood of the National University of Modern Languages expressed deep concern over the dominance of English in linguistic structures, denouncingthe lack of a clearlanguage policy that contributes to mother tongues` extinction, the colonisation of young minds and indifference to local traditions.