FIPLV has the unique role of being the only international (NGO) association which reflects the interests and needs of teacher of all languages with a focus on languages per se. It unites international associations of teachers of English, Esperanto, French, German, Portuguese, and Russian, providing a forum in which representatives of these languages can share and derive benefits though the FIPLV World Council, the World Assembly, and ongoing collaboration. the goals of FIPLV include (1) the organization of professional development activities which address the perceived needs of language teachers; (2) the pro-active involvement of younger colleagues, encouraging them, building up their self-confidence, and motivating them to become part of a larger skilled international profession; (3) the active involvement of language teachers in international projects, such as the European Year of languages, 2001 Linguapax, UNESCO conferences, FIPLV publications and others; and (4) the organization of international and/or cross-cultural activities to bring language teachers together.