Celebrating the linguistic diversity of Europe

It is a day to celebrate the rich mosaic of languages enriching cultural heritage and diversity in Europe.  On every 26th September, since 2001, the European Day of Languages has been aiming to encourage language learning across the Continent, in order to increase pluri-lingualism and inter-cultural understanding. This year over 600 events are planned in Council of Europe member states in partnership with schools, universities, cultural institutes, foundations and associations: a language festival on the island in the River Mur in Graz, a conference on multilingualism and educational workshops at the Faculty of Philology in Belgrade, language activities in over 300 schools in Paris, amongst them.

Background

The Council of Europe has been working to address the languages challenge, through its Language Policy Unit, its European Centre for Modern Languages and through co-operation with the European Commission, notably in the area of multilingual classrooms.

The Council of Europe’s Recommendation on the relevance of the languages of schooling (focus for 2015) for educational success offers its 47 European Member States concrete and innovative support to help them ensure that all pupils can reach their educational potential.

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