In 2001, AEGEE started the journey to celebrate the linguistic richness of our continent and to promote language learning. The European Day of Languages (EDL) was also celebrated last year by AEGEE, in order to encourage all of us to continue learning languages, to praise the beauty of each language, and to remind us of the importance and necessity of linguistic diversity. The date chosen by the EDL coordination team was the 14th of November, but each antennae chose the most convenient day around that date.
The different local EDL events showed participants that languages can become the key to intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding. Languages open doors, allow for a different viewpoint of the world, and they can help to improve job opportunities. In addition, multilingualism breaks language barriers, brings people together and it is essential for a diverse and borderless Europe.
A total of 17 antennae organised a local EDL event in 2019. For example, AEGEE Bilbao organised an interactive language quiz and a public speaking workshop. In addition, AEGEE Praha had a nice after-Agora meeting, at which participants learned about the advantages of multilingualism and tried learning daily sentences from Russian, Czech , German and Greek from native speakers. Besides, the participants of the EDL event of AEGEE-Valladolid played an exciting language quiz, discussed the advantages of learning languages, and learned about the role of LIG. Furthermore, AEGEE-Zagreb organized a local EDL event in collaboration with ESN, where participants had the chance to learn new words in other languages, play a language quiz and go to a karaoke to sing international songs with Erasmus students.
In Romania, AEGEE-Iasi organised a variety of language-related activities for the participants of their local EDL event. From the language speed dating game to a discussion about the use of English and a poetry translation in five different languages, the enthusiastic participants and organisers enjoyed an amazing event. Moreover, in AEGEE-Koln, participants had a lot of fun during a Dialect Night, which featured various dialects of German language, such as Badisch, Münsterländer Platt and Kölsch. In contrast, AEGEE-Alicante had fun playing a trivial pursuit with questions about languages, in cooperation with the youth council of that city.
In the west of Europe, AEGEE-A Coruña organised a language tandem and a multicultural dinner, where participants had the opportunity to taste various snacks, dishes and desserts from other countries. Before the dinner, international students gave presentations about their language, tradition, festivities, stereotypes and cuisine. In Delft, the Dutch Speaking Night took place, where international students who live in Delft had the chance to speak Dutch with the help of native speakers in a casual atmosphere.
All these EDL events remind us that AEGEE is an active multilingual organisation, which spreads language love and strives for a diverse and borderless Europe based on intercultural dialogue and peaceful international cooperation. If you also love languages or you want to learn more about the EDL and other ongoing projects of LIG, don’t forget to visit LIG’s website or write to lig@aegee.org.