European Day of Languages 2023 celebrated at the National Library of the Republic of Moldova
During several years the National Library of the Republic of Moldova is joining the initiative of European Day of Languages, which is celebrated on September 26 to promote cultural and linguistic diversity and encourage foreign language learning at any age.
The National Library of the Republic of Moldova (NLRM) and the META Teachers’ Association, in partnership with the Austrian Embassy in Chisinau and the EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture) representation in the Republic of Moldova, organized the 2023 edition of the event, with the title “European Day of Languages together with us”.
The event partners were: the Embassy of Austria, EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture) representation, Council of Europe Office in Chisinau, “Mihai Eminescu” Romanian Cultural Institute in Chisinau, Goethe Zentrum Chisinau, French Alliance from the Republic of Moldova, Polish Institute form Bucharest, the Embassy of Italy, the Embassy of Hungary and the Embassy of Sweden in the Republic of Moldova.
The participants were welcomed by: Elena Pintilei, general director of National Library of the Republic of Moldova; Falk Lange, Head of the Office of the Council of Europe (CoE) in Chisinau; Larisa Guzun, executive director of META Moldova; HE Stella Avallone, Ambassador of Austria to the Republic of Moldova.
Being for the first time in the National Library of the Republic of Moldova, the new head of the COE Office in the Republic of Moldova, Mr. Falk Lange, used the opportunity to visit the Reading Room of the Pro-European Service and Communication Center (CPESC). Natalia Gulco, head of the Center, familiarized him with its current activity and future plans. Mr. Falk Lange showed interest towards the achievements of the Center and, in particular, to the unique collection, which includes CoE publications, encouraging its development. He also expressed the intention to support the activity of this structure of the NLRM, especially in terms of completing the collection. On this occasion, Mr. Falk Lange also visited the exhibition dedicated to the visibility of the CoE in Moldova.
During the event, there were held several activities for teachers and students.
More than 100 teachers attended the Professional Development Workshop for Language Teachers with the title „Creative Projects in the language classroom: a presentation of methodology and practical examples„ by University Professor Dr. Bernd Rüschoff, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany, member of the Professional Network Forum of the European Center for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe (ECML), member of the CEFR expert group of the Council of Europe.
About 250 young people and children from 30 schools, high schools/colleges participated in the Interactive Sessions for students:
There were organized four thematic Exhibitions which were visited by some participants of the event.
At the last exhibition, Romanian Cultural Institute “Mihai Eminescu” in Chisinau presented several books translated from Romanian into French, German, Spanish, Italian and other languages. After the event, the books were donated to the National Library of the Republic of Moldova.
The participants were pleased with all the activities they benefited from, including the promotional and informative materials presented by the organizer of the European Day of Languages – the European Center for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe (ECML). The event had a major impact on all present participants. They learned new facts/information about languages, experienced various learning/teaching methods; they were challenged to study an unknown language in one hour; they learned about study programs and convinced themselves that there are no impediments for studying a foreign language at any age.
The European Day of Languages is an opportunity to encourage the study of languages and an new opening door for personal and professional development.
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