2022 European Day of Languages: Language competences at the service of youth
The European Day of Languages on 26 September is a well-established opportunity to raise awareness about language learning and linguistic diversity.
The European Day of Languages on 26 September is a well-established opportunity to raise awareness about language learning and linguistic diversity. Many language and cultural institutes, associations, universities and, in particular schools, take part.
This year’s main event organised by the European Commission celebrating the European Year of Youth 2022 will have youth at its heart.
It will take you to a journey from Sweden to Portugal and from Estonia to Spain to discuss language aware schools and how multilingual classrooms and community activities foster inclusion.
We'll connect with some of the European Day of Language events taking place across European Union (EU) Member States. Young people will tell us how they feel about languages and how they influence their life.
In light of the large number of Ukrainian displaced children, the event will enable discussions about the support to include Ukrainian refugees into EU national education systems, with a particular focus on integration through language learning.
Follow the event online
The event will be streamed live online on this page and on Erasmus+ on Facebook from 12:00 until 14:00 Central European Summer Time (CEST) on Monday 26 September 2022.
Themis Christophidou, the European Commission’s Director-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, and Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, will introduce the event and give an overview of the policy context.
The discussions will be interpreted into English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Czech.
You can also follow the event on social media on Erasmus+ on Twitter.
Programme
Moderator: Chris Burns, Broadcast and print journalist (Euronews, Bloomberg News, CNN, AP)
Biography
Themis Christophidou has been the Director-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture of the European Commission since March 2018. She is a civil engineer with 35 years of experience in private and public sector management.
After having worked in the private sector for 15 years, she joined the European Commission in 2001. During the last 20 years, she has held various positions, including in the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, as Head of Cabinet of the Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries and as Head of Cabinet of the Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management.
Themis Christophidou is an alumna of the civil engineering faculty of the Metsovio Polytechnic University of Athens. Born in Famagusta, Cyprus, she is trilingual, being fluent in Greek, French and English.
Biography
- European Day of Languages Event for Language Teachers, Europahuset, Stockholm, Sweden
Teachers briefly share their experience with multilingual classrooms.
- EDL for unusual suspects, Festival juvenil, Lisbon, Portugal
Tune into activities for underprivileged pupils as part of a larger festival on urban culture, inclusion and diversity.
- EDL Language Fair in Coimbra, Parque Verde, Coimbra, Portugal
Subtitled reading with sign language interpretation and interview of attendees.
- Young people translate... and help the community, Madrid, Spain
Discussion with young people who use their language skills to help integrate people into Spanish society and volunteer for social projects, for example with Ukrainian refugees.
- An online seminar on multilingual classrooms, Europe Experience, Estonia
Video presentation of children’s experiences of multilingual classrooms.
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