European Day of languages – Aberlangs: Aberdeen City of Languages

During this talk hosted for the European Day of Languages, Drs Fransiska Louwagie and Clémence O’Connor (University of Aberdeen) will discuss Aberlangs, a partnership initiative supporting multilingualism and the presence of home, heritage and community languages in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. Promoting Aberdeen as a City of Languages which celebrates multilingualism as a positive force within the city and its broader surroundings, the initiative aims to bring together researchers in languages, linguistics, cultures and societies from the University of Aberdeen with a broad range of local and regional stakeholders and rightholders. Cities of languages build on the idea that languages learning and the value of home, heritage and community languages (of Scottish as well as wider origins) are an asset to both individuals and collectives. The project draws on the unique cultural and international heritage of the North East of Scotland and offers a platform to celebrate multilingualism in its communities.

As part of the Aberlangs initiative, Dr Louwagie will discuss a research project entitled Mapping Multilingualism: Images and Stories of Languages in the North East (funded through the University of Aberdeen Arts and Humanities Fund), which is linked to the creation of an online exhibition. Building on this, Dr O’Connor will present the university’s outreach engagement on Languages, which addresses issues of declining language provision in Scottish schools, and particularly the North East, by building regular engagement with schools and councils to raise awareness of the benefits of languages, the restrictions of monolingualism and the myths around AI. In order to nurture the pipeline for the long-term sustainability of language education and provision in the North East and across Scotland, creative initiatives in a range of formats have been developed with SCILT and student Language Ambassadors’ involvement to reach out to a wide network of schools and support young learners from diverse backgrounds to make informed decisions on their curriculum.

Free event
The talk will be followed by ‘le verre de l’amitié’

Info & Booking: https://www.ifecosse.org.uk/events-agenda/european-day-of-languages-aberlangs-aberdeen-city-of-languages/#/

You may also like the following events from Institut français d'Ecosse:

• Next month, 18th August, 10:00 am, Choir workshop in French in Edinburgh
• Next month, 19th August, 06:00 pm, Meet the authors Laurent Binet and Jean-Baptiste Andréa in Edinburgh
• This September, 13th September, 10:30 am, Storytime with the author Camille Brunel in Edinburgh

Also check out other Exhibitions in Edinburgh, Arts events in Edinburgh.