Final Report (Public Part) Executive Summary

Transcription

1 Poliglotti4.eu Final Report (Public Part) Executive Summary

2 Project information Project acronym: Project title: Project number: Sub-programme or KA: Project website: Poliglotti4.eu Civil Society Platform to promote multilingualism LLP BE-KA2-KA2PLA KA-2 Platform Civil Society Reporting period: From 01/01/11 To 31/12/12 Report version: 1 Date of preparation: Beneficiary organisation: European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) Project coordinator: Uwe Mohr Project coordinator organisation: Goethe-Institut Brüssel Project coordinator telephone number: +32 (0) Project coordinator address: uwe.mohr@bruessel.goethe.org This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein Copyright Education, Audiovisual & Culture Executive Agency. The document may be freely copied and distributed provided that no modifications are made, that the source is acknowledged and that this copyright notice is included.

3 Executive Summary The Poliglotti4.eu-project originated from the activities of the Civil Society Platform on Multilingualism, which since 2009 has been working on behalf of the European Commission on the current situation of multilingualism in Europe in the fields of Education, Linguistic Diversity and Social Cohesion, Translation and Terminology, and Language Policy. The research and fact-finding conducted by the platform's thematic working groups led to the development of a set of recommendations for the implementation of a European multilingualism policy, which formed the basis of the Poliglotti4.eu-project to which nine members of the Platform committed. The project is co-funded through the European Commission's Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP) and implemented by nine project partners: Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE); British Council (BC); Danish Cultural Institute Benelux (DKI); EU National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC); European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA); European Theatre Convention (ETC); Fundación Academia Europea de Yuste (FAEY); Goethe-Institut Brüssel (GI); Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning (Mercator). For more information on the members of the consortium and the Civil Society Platform on Multilingualism please consult the website: The launch of the website in September 2011 was a key milestone in the promotion of multilingualism. The website, the project s main output and public face, serves as the on-line reference on the practice of multilingualism in Europe, and features a Language Observatory which gathers and disseminates examples of best practice in language policy and language learning. The Language Observatory also serves as a platform for organisations and individuals interested in all aspects of multilingualism and offers comprehensive up-to-date information on events, news, publications, the latest research, and language tools. The Observatory also stimulates the ongoing debate around language learning and language policies, especially through its links to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, YouTube and others. The integrated PR, exploitation and dissemination strategy has created publicity and awareness of the project and has generated an important impact on the multilingualism debate in Europe. In November 2012 our website had more than 43,000 visits, with around 150,000 page views and 500,000 hits; in addition the project now has almost 1700 Facebook followers, and the website currently hosts around 1400 news items from 93 different countries around the world (including all EU countries). Furthermore, daily tweets and posts on Facebook complement the rich content provided by the site. In less than two years, an agenda with over 350 events on the topic of Multilingualism as well as 46 case studies outlining the most impressive examples of Best Practice in language instruction and acquisition and 227 publications have been compiled; we have thus positioned the Poliglotti4.eu website at the centre of the multilingualism debate in Europe, creating a forum for exchange, information and dialogue and connecting the most influential players in the field of multilingualism. By presenting and disseminating the project at the most important conferences on multilingualism and education in Europe, (more than 80 conferences and events with 10,700 participants in 18 countries), important links have been created with all relevant stakeholders and civil society organisations, as well as with influential politicians at European, national, regional and local level. As a result of our language competitions to find multilingual talents and ambassadors and thanks to the involvements of schools and universities, we have been able to reach the younger generation in impressive numbers and we have illustrated to them the importance and personal and professional benefits of learning of foreign languages.

4 Target audiences The project was aimed at policy makers, social and public services, language learners and language teachers as well as at Civil Society, and all its associated stakeholders, including non-governmental organisations. Of course, it is also addressed to all those members of the general public who have an interest in the promotion of multilingualism in Europe, especially to young people, as they will shape the future of Europe and are attracted both professionally and personally to visit and/or live and work in other countries. Since the topic is wide-ranging, so are the target groups. Given the financial and time limits of the project it was felt necessary to focus on some aspects of multilingualism with particular relevance to the target groups. We therefore concentrated on the areas of Early Language Learning, Lifelong Learning as well as Social and Community Services, as we felt that in those areas the impact of multilingual education and services would be the strongest. Project objectives with explicit reference to the target users The principal physical output of this project, the multilingual on-line Language Observatory, was launched in September 2011 and is available in the three selected languages, English, French and German. Although all the structural and key pages of the website are in the three main languages, all dynamic content, some best practice examples, policy papers or other related articles or links were posted in the EU Languages in which they were published or announced. This multilingual aspect has been strongly encouraged and promoted during the numerous dissemination and PR activities and while presenting the project at international linguistics/didactics and language policy conferences all over Europe. The Language Observatory has attracted considerable interest and the number of visitors and contributors has continuously increased; in only two years it has thus become the reference point on the practice of multilingualism in Europe and interlinks other initiatives and projects related to the topic. The impact of the website can also be seen by comments on the examples of best practice and by the many references to the website on other organisations websites, newsletters or publications. Special emphasis was placed on facilitating dialogue, and an exchange of expertise and views between the relevant players and stakeholders thus positioning the website and the Poliglotti4.eu project as a hub and forum for the multilingual discussion in Europe. The Language Observatory not only provides a collection of all important documents (including the research undertaken during the project), policy papers, articles on the topic of Multilingualism in Europe and beyond, catalogues of multilingualism practice and examples of best practice in the three core areas mentioned above, but also hosts a collection of video testimonials of Multilingualism Ambassadors from all walks of life, as well as the media gallery and interactive elements with commentary function and links to Social Media. The Language Observatory is, of course, directed towards all target groups of the project: It is firstly meant to inform those members of the general public who are interested in multilingualism and to raise their awareness for the importance of learning foreign languages. Secondly, it serves as a forum for the exchange of ideas and information for all aspects of Civil Society and its associated stakeholders. It is very important to increase the impact of the project by involving as many associations, initiatives and stakeholders in as many countries as possible. The website helps this indispensable liaising activity, and also connects and updates the Civil Society Platform member organisations with the project and with other relevant networks in the fields of multilingualism and language policy. Associated Civil Society stakeholders have also been

5 connected with policy makers and representatives of social and public Services during the language and multilingualism policy conferences. As part of the dissemination strategy four key events were organised: the first one, a Stakeholders Meeting involving experts on social integration and mobility took place in Madrid at the beginning of December 2011; in February 2012 an International Expert Seminar on Early Language Learning was held in Leeuwarden in the Netherlands and the Final Conference with more than 300 participants took place in November 2012 as part of an International Theatre Festival in Parma, thus connecting the project with the artistic and cultural world. Students from the European School and the European College in Parma, as well as from other local and regional schools, attended the conference and thus language learners were directly involved. By means of our language competitions Languages Speakup and MehrsprachICH the younger generation was able to actively participate and get involved and interested in the project. Our Language Ambassadors also disseminated the findings of the project and the messages we intend to spread. In 2012 we did a lot to make the project known to as many people as possible and to make its findings accessible in many countries and contexts. For instance, we organised various dissemination and exploitation activities: lobbying and networking events in several countries (Spain, Italy, France, Hungary, Cyprus, Germany, Great Britain and the Netherlands) during which policy makers were informed about the project outcomes and examples of best practice. This contributed to the overall goal of implementing multilingualism policies among local and regional authorities. One such activity was the signing in November 2012 of an agreement between Poliglotti4.eu and the Association of European Border Regions to promote multilingualism in border regions. To close the exploitation campaign, in December 2012 a policy debate was jointly planned and organised with the European Policy Centre (EPC) in Brussels and brought stakeholders and policy makers together in order to discuss the topic Mobility, Growth and Jobs the Multilingual Challenge of the Single Market. In the Language Tools section on the website there are two subsections for Language Learners and Language Teachers with compilations of a total of 65 tools for 10 different languages, as well as a wealth of important articles and useful links for the respective target groups with the result that the online Language Observatory is now an important source of information and documentation for all issues related to multilingualism. Participants involved description of the consortium (expertise and complementarity) The consortium partners were well suited to fulfil the project goals and to achieve the desired outcome and impact of the project, as they combine a range of disciplines, approaches and complementary expertise in the relevant subject fields: EUNIC is a framework through which EU national cultural institutes cooperate in the development and execution of multilingual and multicultural projects and initiatives. Its worldwide network helped disseminate the results and compile examples of best practices. The expertise of several EUNIC clusters was used to develop and continuously improve the website. The existing contacts of EUNIC helped to identify partners in the field of multilingualism. The Goethe-Institut, the British Council and the Danish Cultural Institute, represented in many countries worldwide, are experts in language teaching and have widespread experience in international project management. These management skills and intercultural experiences were useful in the development and controlling of timetables, the follow-up on work packages and the overall management of the

6 project. The expertise in the field of language teaching contributed to the quality of the content in the language tool section and the event agenda. ALTE is a pan-european association of institutions producing examinations and certification for language learners, with special expertise in Quality Management and Evaluation Procedures. They were thus the ideal partner to guarantee quality assurance and the correct evaluation of our work packages. In addition, ALTE s considerable experience in project planning was also useful. EAEA is an umbrella organisation representing 128 organisations in 43 countries in the field of Lifelong Learning, with particular expertise in the area of adult language learning. EAEA s extensive network helped to collect language tools and links to interesting other projects, blogs and websites. The ETC is a pan-european membership network consisting of 41 public theatres in 24 countries, closely cooperating with Civil Society and reaching out to 8,000,000 theatregoers each year. ETC added a new perspective and a new context to the project, connecting the artistic and cultural world with the linguistic and academic sphere. The Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning has expertise in language learning and teaching as well as multilingual education. Its vast experience in academic research was instrumental in devising and implementing the fact finding phase of the project. The Fundación Academia Europea de Yuste has the promotion and support of research in European issues, including multilingualism, among its goals, and specialises in issues related to social integration and improvement in the quality of life for persons with disabilities or at risk of exclusion. Its wide range of contacts with policy makers at local, regional, national and EU level contributed to the success and outreach of the exploitation campaign. Approaches: methodologies/strategies used, and analysis/ tests carried out The approach of this project is a mixture of PR and dissemination events, networking, research in the three subject areas as well as the documentation and exploitation via the online Language Observatory. As the project is a networking project, this part of the activity is of utmost importance. In fact, the project derives from the results of a two-year long organised networking process that was carried out through the meetings and exchanges of the Civil Society Platform to Promote Multilingualism. Networking is here intended in the sense of liaising with other international multilingualism projects, networking between the members of the Civil Society Platform as well as networking among other stakeholders that took part in our conferences or events. In 2012 there was a special emphasis on PR- and dissemination events during which we reached more than 10,700 people (80 events in 18 countries). We thus strengthened the connections between the main actors in the field of multilingualism and raised more awareness of the importance of multilingual education and policies. In order to guarantee good media coverage, a local PR specialist was involved in the preparation and organisation of the Closing Conference in Parma. The results were overwhelming, with 34 press articles in the national and local Italian press, including La Repubblica, La Gazzetta di Parma, radio and TV interviews as well as the presence of all relevant newspapers on both days of the conference. In Brussels a PR consultant helped the consortium to develop the media strategy for the dissemination and exploitation phase across Europe. Fact-finding in the three thematic areas of early language learning, adult education and social and community services was a vital part of the first phase of the project. Despite the financial and time limitations of this project, we have, nevertheless, carried out research in

7 more than ten different countries all over Europe, with a good geographical spread of the locations. The purpose of our research samples is to identify some of the major obstacles for the promotion of multilingualism as well as examples of best practice in all fields. All the research results have been published on our website and led to lively discussions. One part of the Closing Conference was a critical analysis and evaluation of the research results in workshops of experts and with the attendance of representatives of Best Practices. Major results/products Website on-line Language Observatory Research and fact-finding results published on the website Catalogue of Multilingual Tools for Language Learners and Teachers (including translation tools) Stakeholders Meeting in Madrid November 2011 Expert Workshop on Early Language Learning in Leeuwarden in February 2012 Videos of Language Ambassadors,including a series of Ambassador videos made at the Annual Conference of the Association of European Border Regions (AEBR) Brochure to disseminate information about the project Closing Conference in Parma in November 2012 PR-Video produced during the Parma Closing Conference Video clips about multilingual situations presented at the Closing Conference in Parma Policy Debate in cooperation with the European Policy Centre (EPC) Other videos documenting project activities or events (such as Berlin Conference with Association of European Border Regions) Declarations/agreements on multilingualism with major stakeholders: European Theatre Convention, Association of European Border Regions, A Soul for Europe Publication of articles describing the project, such as in quarterly expert journals of LEND (Italian Foreign Language Association) and EFNIL (European Federation of National Institutes for Language) Plans and prospects for the future, including how the results/benefits will be sustained The on-line Language Observatory, having now established itself as the forum for networking, discussion and information on multilingualism as well as being a comprehensive database for all issues related to multilingual questions, will be on-line for at least another five years after the end of this project and thus guarantees the continuity of the project and the opportunities for networking as well as the exchange of examples of best practice, ideas and experiences. The close co-operation between these web services and other websites related to our project is planned and talks to establish this are underway. The project members are also in discussions with the re-launched Civil Society Platform on Multilingualism to continue to create synergies with them and to ensure that the Language Observatory can provide a tool for the Platform to promote multilingualism in Europe.

8 There are also plans to connect the most important multilingual projects in order to create synergy effects (e.g. Poliglotti4.eu and Language Rich Europe) and to link the Poliglotti4.eu project to other relevant projects, thus benefitting from the central role that the website has now gained and using it to the advantage of all multilingual initiatives and projects. EUNIC will guarantee the maintenance of the website and also interlink it with activities of its 83 clusters and 29 member organisations in 24 countries, with over 2000 branches worldwide. The co-operation with important stakeholders such as European Policy Centre, Brussels, the Association of European Border Regions, NPLD, Euractiv, and Euronews will be continued way beyond the end of this project so that there will be a long-term impact. As the Civil Society Platform on Multilingualism is able to continue its activities and the Poliglotti4.eu project originated from the research of the Platform, the Civil Society Platform members and their international sub-organisations will now follow up on the findings and results of the project and mainstream and multiply them through dissemination in their various newsletters, websites and other information channels.