Join Women in Localization Global Growth & Diversity for a timely and urgent panel discussion on the evolving landscape of language education in the United States and what its trajectory means for the future of our industry.

Prompted by the recent announcement that the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS) will phase out several of its flagship language and translation programs, this session asks: What are we MIISsing? What does this moment reveal about national priorities around multilingualism, and how might it reshape professional pathways for language specialists, educators, and localization professionals?

Together with our wonderful panelists we will explore:

• What MIIS’s program cuts suggest about the broader state of language education and professional training.

• Why language programs are disappearing from schools and universities, and what we lose when they do.

• How shrinking access to language learning could impact industries like localization, global marketing, diplomacy, and international business.

• The role the localization industry can play in sustaining the language talent pipeline.

• How we can inspire and support the next generation of language professionals in a tech-driven, AI-disrupted world.