On the occasion of our event on multilingualism, organised by the University of Amsterdam on Thursday 15 October, the rectors and presidents of the 8 member universities signed the letter of intent of the language policy within the EPICUR alliance.
Here the declaration on the commitment to multilingualism within the EPICUR alliance.
The event, which took place both physically and virtually, was also an excellent opportunity for students, academic staff, teachers, and representatives of the 8 universities and of the European Commission to discuss issues related to linguistic diversity,the importance of multilingualism in careers and solutions to preserve and promote European languages in universities. With the interventions of:
– Karen Maex, Rector of the University of Amsterdam
– Michel Deneken, President of the University of Strasbourg, EPICUR Coordinator
– Bogumila Kaniewska, Rector of Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan
– Prof. Dr. Bernd Kortmann, Albert-Ludwig University, Fribourg
– Representative of DG-EAC, European Commission
– Flora Platteuw, EPICUR student council member
– Fabian Götzmann, member of the EPICUR student council
“Our language is our soul and we must preserve it. English has an important role, but we must support multilingualism and commit ourselves to it. This is a challenge for all university alliances.” Michel DENEKEN, President of the University of Strasbourg and the EPICUR alliance.
EPICUR’s ambition is to become the preferred supplier on Multilingualism in Europe. The alliance is working hard to safeguard and strengthen European linguistic diversity in European Higher Education. The Multilingualism event focuses on one of EPICUR’s core themes, multilingualism, and will touch upon topics such as linguistic diversity, good practices in developing institutional language policies and inclusive governance. During the event, the EPICUR Statement on Multilingualism will be officially presented and signed by all EPICUR rectors and presidents, underpinning EPICUR’s commitment to multilingualism and the importance of safeguarding European linguistic diversity.
An excellent opportunity to students, academic staff, teachers, and representatives of the 8 universities and of the European Commission to discuss issues related to linguistic diversity, the importance of multilingualism in careers and solutions to preserve and promote European languages in universities.
Many thanks to the University of Amsterdam for the great organisation.