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CILT Director to advise on EU language policy
Added: (Fri Oct 06 2006)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
The Director of CILT, the National Centre for Languages, Isabella Moore CBE, has been invited to join a high level team of experts advising the European Commission on the next stage of its policy on multilingualism. The group will meet regularly with Commissioner Jan Figel throughout the next year, covering a broad spectrum of topics including languages and research, new technologies for translation and interpretation and strategies to promote language learning.
The group recognises the UK’s strength in assessing the impact of a lack of language skills on individual businesses and the economy as a whole. Isabella Moore will present a paper on that topic to the group in December, drawing on the results of a Europe-wide survey of exporting businesses CILT is currently carrying out for the European Commission.
In announcing the formation of the group, Commission Figel said, ‘Multilingualism is at the heart of the European project. The High Level Group brings together some of the best experts in the field for the benefit of all the languages spoken in the European Union. I am confident that this group will make a significant contribution to the promotion and preservation of Europe’s multilingual heritage.’
Isabella Moore said, ‘We need to develop a better understanding of how multilingualism contributes not only to educational and cultural life, but to the functioning of our shared economy. This group provides a unique opportunity to share knowledge and develop our thinking and I am relishing taking part.’
ENDS
For further information contact:
Tamzin Caffrey
Press & PR Manager
CILT, the National Centre for Languages
tamzin.caffrey@cilt.org.uk
020 7395 0822
Notes to Editors
1. CILT, the National Centre for Languages
CILT, the National Centre for Languages seeks to promote a greater national capability in languages, supporting and developing multilingualism and intercultural competence in all sectors of society. CILT manages major initiatives in support of languages.
It works closely with partner organisations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and supports language networks throughout the UK. It is a key partner in the implementation of national languages strategies and plays a significant role in languages initiatives at European level.
www.cilt.org.uk
2. High Level Group on Multilingualism
The group has been set up in response to the 2005 Communication A new framework strategy for multilingualism, which called for a high level group to advise the Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Multilingualism on the ‘development of initiatives, as well as fresh impetus and ideas for a comprehensive approach to multilingualism in the European Union’.
The group led by Commissioner Jan Figel is made up of the following members:
Barbara Cassin (French - Director of Research, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris)
Abram De Swaan (Dutch - Professor of Sociology, University of Amsterdam)
Rita Franceschini (Italian, Professor of Language Science and Linguistics, Rector of the Free University of Bozen - Bolzano)
Branislav Hochel (Slovak - Professor of Translation Studies, Comenius University Bratislava)
Hanna Komorowska (Polish - Professor of Applied Linguistics and Language Teaching, Warsaw University)
Wolfgang Mackiewicz (German - Honorary Professor of English Philology, Freie Universität Berlin)
Isabella Moore (British - Director of CILT, the National Centre for Languages)
Barbara Moser-Mercer (Austrian - Professor of Conference Interpreting, University of Geneva)
Josep Palomero (Spanish - Vice-President of the Academia Valenciana de la Llengua)
Ineta Savickienë (Lithuanian - Head of Regional Studies, Vytautas Magnus University)
Jaana Sormunen (Finnish - Executive Producer for Modern Languages, YLE)