The European Day of Languages (EDL), a Council of Europe initiative, is held annually on the 26 September to celebrate language and cultural diversity. The Day was first celebrated in 2001, the European Year of Languages and involves more people every year.

EDL aims to:

• To alert the public to the importance of language learning
• To increase awareness and appreciation of all languages
• To encourage lifelong language learning

Most events and activities are held on the day itself, but some people extend the celebrations over two or three days and others even have a whole week of language-related events. Whether you decide on a single activity or a how series of events, there are a range of resources to help you make the day special.

EDL is celebrated throughout the UK and in 45 countries across Europe. The Council of Europe, who co-ordinate the Day at European level, are keen for the Day to be as decentralised as possible (although they do produce European resources) and the team at CILT is hoping you will either organise or attend an event yourself. If you are planning any kind of language or culture-related event, why not do it on the European Day of Languages?

View the Council of Europe Events calendar for details of planned activities in the UK and across Europe, and keep coming back to it - as 26 September approaches, more and more events are always added. And don’t forget to add your own event, even if it is not open to the public.

The 2007 leaflet on the CILT website provides more information about how to get involved and celebrate the day, or visit our FAQ to find out more.

Scottish CILT - information and resources

There are free resources available to order NOW from Scottish CILT. Scottish CILT now has a limited supply of CILT posters (double sided) and stickers (’hello’ in 30 languages) to send out which will be distributed free on a first-come-first-served basis. If you would like to order some please contact Sheila McLachlan as soon as possible (s.e.mclachlan@stir.ac.uk).

View further information about the European Day of Languages on the Scottish CILT website.

Categories: Events in languages