To establish a grants programme that funds projects to document endangered languages and to train linguists in documentation methods. The digitized materials are available for free online.
The Endangered Languages Documentation Programme (ELDP) was founded in 2002 as part of the Hans Rausing Endangered Language Project (HRELP) with a donation of £20 million from the Arcadia Fund to SOAS University of London, UK. Arcadia renewed the grant in April 2015 with another £7.24 million for five more years. Arcadia Fund is a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin. Arcadia serves humanity by preserving endangered cultural heritage and ecosystems. Because knowledge should belong to all, we also promote open access, seeking to make information available without barriers of cost or distance.
