Group of international students holding up signs saying where they are from.
Friday, 27 September 2024

The European Day of Languages (EDL) has promoted linguistic and cultural diversity throughout Europe over the past twenty years. EDL has always been a special day at UL, an opportunity to enjoy the many vibrant languages and cultures on campus.

This year, it was celebrated through a series of exciting events running over two days. They included collaboration with Aonad na Gaeilge for the traditional Irish language coffee morning for UL staff and pizza lunch for UL students with the help of An Cumann Gaelach, the Irish student society. The Japanese section delivered a fun and engaging Japan Trivia Quiz, with students and speakers of Japanese and Japan enthusiasts, including Language Centre students. MLAL teamed up with UL Global and organised several events provided the opportunity for UL and International students to meet and connect.

The Language Exchange Meeting ran on Wednesday evening. Students attend to find language partners. With over 150 students in attendance, and many nationalities and languages represented, the event proved to be a continuous success. This was followed on Thursday by an international coffee meet-up in the newly open The Globe attended by students from around the world. Both events provided the opportunity for linguistic and cultural exchanges in an informal atmosphere.

On the EDL, the Globe also hosted multilingual literary readings on the theme of 'Language and Peace' featuring students from different countries. This offered a journey around the world highlighting the literature, poetry and singing of the various countries represented, with each performer introducing the author and explaining their choice. Students spoke knowledgeably and passionately about their performance piece highlighting its significance to their lives.

A visit to the Irish World Music Café and attendance to the talk by Monica Brandis for the Centre for Irish-German Studies also highlighted the importance of languages in every aspects of life as a bond between people.

 

Group of international students and organizers attending event

This year's events were organised by a team of MLAL including Dr Marie-Thérèse Batardière, Dr Veronica O'Regan, Dr Erika Marcet and the Language Learning team Catherine Jeanneau, Rachel O'Loughlin and the Erasmus+ interns Elsa, Nelly and Tizian. The overall aim of the celebration was to promote greater intercultural communication and understanding and highlight the vital role of languages in this process.