The central theme of the 8th World Hindi Conference is ‘Hindi at the World Stage’.

Hindi, the official language of multi-linguistic India, due to its linguistic characteristics, simplicity, ease of use and rich literature is growing in popularity in the country and abroad. Hindi carries a rich linguistic, literary and cultural tradition which not only strengthen the Indian identity but also contribute to international understanding. It unites Indians, people of Indian origin and other Hindi enthusiasts all over the world. Both government and non-government organizations, as well as Hindi scholars and Indians living abroad have contributed towards the growth and expansion of the language. There is hardly a country in the world which does not have Hindi speakers and enthusiasts.

Hindi is on its way to become an international language. This journey is not without challenges but Hindi and its supporters have the capacity and determination to face these challenges and have an unwavering commitment which does not allow a pause in its continuing march ahead. Organising World Hindi Conferences is an expression of this commitment towards Hindi which affords us an opportunity to appraise its strengths and weaknesses, to review its successes and failures, to study the trends and changes in it, to find practical solutions to problems facing it and to recognize the contribution of Hindi scholars, academics and thinkers.

So far seven World Hindi Conferences have been held: Nagpur (1975), Port Louis (1976), New Delhi (1983), Port Louis (1993), Port of Spain (1996), London (1999) and Paramaribo - Surinam (2003). The 8th World Hindi Conference is being organized in New York from 13 – 15 July 2007.

In addition to focusing on increasing the use and propagation of Hindi world wide, an objective of the Conference is to maintain and strengthen its heritage. World Hindi Conference provides a forum to scholars and supporters of Hindi all over the world where they can experience the global process of growth and development of our official language. The common goal of reaching Hindi to the people of the world as a language of understanding and harmony unites them in a bond free from the limits of geography. 

Other objectives of the Conference are to highlight the role of Hindi as an international language, to assess the status of teaching of Hindi as a foreign language in various countries and to suggest measures for improvement, to recognize the contribution of foreign scholars to Hindi language and literature, to help develop Hindi as a medium of expression among Indians living abroad, to increase the use of Hindi in the fields of science and technology, economy, communications and information technology. This Conference also affords us an opportunity to strengthen our links to the people of Indian origin and to express our goodwill towards them.

Although Ministry of External Affairs plays a leading role in organizing these Conferences, Hindi institutions of the host countries also play an active role. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, New York is playing an important role in organizing the 8th World Hindi Conference.