English as a lingua franca, national languages, and minority languages play a crucial role in the complicated processes of transformation for peaceful and super-diverse societies in Europe.
We will organize an introductory workshop in Giessen (September 2024) and a follow-up workshop in Calabria (February 2025). They are focused on the role of languages in university teaching and curricula. Through an interactive format, the workshops aim to analyze differing language ideologies, from national symbols to plurilingualism, assess language’s cultural role, and examine the impact of new technologies like AI on language education.
The events aim to facilitate knowledge exchange, support multilingualism, and stress the development of state languages and the rights of minorities. They will describe and develop the educational mechanisms and strategies important for societal dialogue between different generations, cultural groups, and disciplines. The preliminary description of the role of languages and language ideologies in societal transformation and peace-building will be the main result of the workshops.
This project is made possible through seed funding from the EUPeace Fund, an initial incentive launched to cultivate and develop interest across EUPeace communities in our network; by providing a first format for collaboration, the Fund equips participating researchers, educators, students and administrators with a practical tool for experimentation and active participation, employing a bottom-up approach that generates concrete information on the interests and needs of our communities and informs future collaborative initiatives.
