On Tuesday 16 June 2026, Luxembourg’s Ministry of Culture and the Centre for the Luxembourgish Language (ZLS) announced the publication of the booklet “Liicht Sprooch Lëtzebuergesch” (“Easy Read Luxembourgish”), which contains rules and recommendations for inclusive communication in Luxembourgish without language barriers.

The ministry said that this publication is intended as a practical guide for public administrations, ministries and other organisations to help them formulate information in a way that is understandable and accessible to as wide an audience as possible.

“Language is a key means of accessing information and participating in society. With this new booklet, we are creating a foundation to ensure that people who face reading and comprehension barriers can gain better access to information in Luxembourgish,” emphasised Minister of Culture Eric Thill. “Easy Read language is a concrete step towards greater inclusion and equal opportunities in our society.”

What is Easy Read language?

An Easy Read text should be structured and written in such a way that readers can quickly find and immediately understand the information. To achieve this objective, the rules and recommendations of Easy Read language must be followed. The following checklist highlights the most important points:

• simple and commonly used words are employed;

• difficult words are explained within the text;

• sentences are short and contain only one piece of information;

• sentence structure is simple (subject – verb – object);

• each new sentence starts on a new line;

• the passive voice is avoided; sentences are written in the active voice;

• the layout should also be clear and easy to follow;

• the text is divided into short sections;

• subheadings are used to structure the text;

• images and pictograms help make the content easier to understand;

• the font size is larger than that used in standard texts;

• serif fonts are not used;

• important information is highlighted in bold.

To indicate that a text has been written in Easy Read language, the European logo of Inclusion Europe may be used. Provided that the necessary conditions are met, it can be downloaded free of charge from the Inclusion Europe website.

One of the conditions for using the logo is that the text must be validated by a review group. Such a group consists of adults and young people with intellectual disabilities who read or listen to Easy Read texts and make suggestions for improvement. Once the text has been adapted and approved by the review group, the logo may be added.

Who is Easy Read language intended for and what is its added value?

Administrative texts are generally written at a language level that presents a significant barrier for people with reading difficulties. They may be unable to read such texts independently and therefore lack access to important information in areas such as employment, education, healthcare and politics.

To ensure that all citizens can access information independently and participate actively in society, it is essential to make texts available in Easy Read language as well. This represents an important contribution to inclusion. The need is substantial and the target audience is highly diverse. It includes people with intellectual disabilities, dementia, aphasia, hearing impairments or visual impairments.

Easy Read language is also of great assistance to older people, functional illiterates, beginners learning the language and individuals with specific needs, such as people with dyslexia. Even people without significant reading difficulties benefit from Easy Read language, as it enables them to grasp the main information in a text with minimal effort.

How did the Easy Read project come about?

In 2009, the international organisation Inclusion Europe, in cooperation with representatives from Germany, Austria, Finland, France, Ireland, Lithuania, Portugal and Scotland, published a set of Easy Read guidelines. These guidelines have since been adapted for many different languages, including German, French and English.

In response to strong demand from public administrations and services, Pierre Reding, then Acting Director of the ZLS and Commissioner for the Luxembourgish Language, commissioned the ZLS to develop a document containing rules and recommendations for Easy Read Luxembourgish, thereby reflecting the country's official trilingualism.

For this major project, the ZLS worked closely with committed experts. Particular recognition should be given to the support and advice provided by people with intellectual disabilities. Throughout the project, the working group consistently adhered to the principle: “Mir maachen eppes fir d’Leit mat de Leit!” (“We do something for the people with the people!”)

The document is available online (in Luxembourgish) at https://gouvernement.lu/dam-assets/publications/brochure-livre/zls/liicht-sprooch-ltzebuergesch-abrll-2026.pdf.

Feedback from users in the field will be collected and reviewed and will be incorporated into future editions of the publication, which will be updated regularly.