The French Presidency of the European Union and the Alliance Française
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Education Forum I Speak Therefore I Am | The Languages of Europe: Unity Through Diversity
Lecture by M. Hervé de Charette
Lectures by M. Jacques Andréani
The education forum, I Speak Therefore I Am, which was organized by the Délégation générale de l’Alliance Francaise aux États-Unis with the support of the Embassy of France and in the context of the French presidency of the European Union, took place on September 8, 2008 at the Embassy of France. The forum on European languages brought together two hundred sixty representatives, including teachers, administrators and officials, from school districts and universities in the greater Washington area to meet representatives from 16 European embassies.
The event aimed to promote the linguistic diversity within the European Union and to highlight the number and diversity of opportunities available to American educators, students and professionals within Europe.
The program focused on three areas:
1) a series of presentations on the quest for unity within the development of language policies, mainly following the momentum of the Council of Europe’s projects and the CEFR (one American presentation in particular evaluated the initiatives taken to merge American and European standards for language evaluation in the United States.)
2) four round tables focused on themes of linguistic diversity (the status of English in Europe; the preservation of national languages; plurilingualism; European degrees)
3)time set aside for attendees to visit information tables set up by 10 European embassies and the Delegation of the European Commission in Washington.
The presenters included the Alliance Francaise in the United States and the SCAC in Washington, the Goethe Institute, the British Council, the Instituto Camoes, the Instituto Cervantes, attachés or cultural and linguistic counselors from of 16 European embassies, representatives of the Delegation of the European Commission and the World Bank.
The I Speak Therefore I Am forum was designed to highlight the French presidency of the European Union and, in accordance with its spirit, to promote a better understanding of Europe outside its borders. In addition, it also allowed the European embassies to reaffirm the richness and support that they give to the instruction of their languages in the United States to the education community of greater Washington.
Pascal Saura
In the context of the French presidency of the European Union, the Délégation générale de l'Alliance Française organises on Tuesday, October 14 at the Maison Française of Columbia University, a lecture by former minister Hervé de Charette - with the support of the General Consulate of France, the Cultural Services in New York du Service and program Alliance.
From October 15 to 30, Jacques Andréani, Ambassador of France to the United States (1989-1995), will give a series of lectures in Chicago, Minneapolis, Missoula, Atlanta, Saint-Louis and Washington, DC. This tour is organized in cooperation with the Embassy of France in Washington, the General Consulates, American universities, local Franco-American Chambers of Commerce and the Goethe Institutes.
Isabelle Gruet