A Visit to Esperantoland

Have you read this piece? There is some interesting claims without sources I would like to get more information. Especially: ...and after a petition bearing the signatures of more than 500,000 people and 450 organizations was submitted to the United Nations, UNESCO began to look into the matter.

Signatures of more than 500 000 people!! That is a massive undertaking. Is this true? Can someone tell more about this?

If you find fact-errors, let us now. I still haven't read the whole writing. In my opinion the text is abstruse. Using many words not used much. There is depressing amount of new vocabulary to me.

Oijos:Signatures of more than 500 000 people!! That is a massive undertaking. Is this true? Can someone tell more about this?

Obviously it was a Eo organisation fake and it doesn't matter anyway because "...UNESCO essentially only agreed that yes, Esperanto is a nice idea...".

Furthermore in my opinion based on participation at several youth and family events the European active Esperanto community will remain on stable number of around 5,000 maximum 20,000. Not to forget European E-o community is the biggest one worldwide.

Oijos:In my opinion the text is abstruse.

I don't think so. Arika Okrent only describes that Esperanto's die off political movement veteran world. Its disagreeable to read that she didn't visit more of all that dozen of livelily Esperanto youth and family events. Last part describes that non-veteran, sometime nostalgic hippy-like world very well:

"... Kimo and Jean-Marc began another song whose tune was unfamiliar to me. An original Esperanto song. Normando, a slight man with a hint of gray in his beard came and sat on the grass across from me, his legs folded under him, facing me with his back to the stage. He proved to be a sweet-natured Esperanto ambassador who had been kindly introducing me to people and explaining special phrases and vocabulary to me in a modest, nonpedantic way. He leaned forward, and in French Canadian-accented Esperanto explained that the song we were hearing is called Sola. People closer to the stage began to sing along, and he said it is often played at youth congresses, where it is a sort of anthem. The lyrics tell the story of a young person who feels completely alone, but then goes to an Esperanto congress and feels such friendship and connection to the world that his loneliness leaves him . . . until he is back in his own nation in his own little room. “This song,” he almost whispered, “is so meaningful for Esperantists. Sometimes, when it’s played at the congresses*, you see people crying.”..."
*events

So, I should take that that signatures of more than 500,000 people -thing never happened?

Oijos:So, I should take that that signatures of more than 500,000 people -thing never happened?

Here is a link to the Unesco document. The numerals are hard to read. (link to PDF file)

Rikat:

Oijos:So, I should take that that signatures of more than 500,000 people -thing never happened?

Here is a link to the Unesco document. The numerals are hard to read. (link to PDF file)

According to Esperanto en Perspektivo (CED, 1974; page 760) the figures (by the end of 1949) were:

895 432 individuals
492 international and national organizations with 15 454 780 members

collected in 78 countries