Socrates Lingua seminar
The Socrates Lingua Information and Project Seminar, organised by the Socrates Co-ordinating Committee of the European Union Programmes Unit in collaboration with the Socrates Office of the University, was held on June 6 at the Crowne Plaza,...
The Socrates Lingua Information and Project Seminar, organised by the Socrates Co-ordinating Committee of the European Union Programmes Unit in collaboration with the Socrates Office of the University, was held on June 6 at the Crowne Plaza, Sliema.
Among the 50 participants were academics, software producers, members of the media, as well as representatives of theatre companies, cultural organisations and language schools.
The seminar was opened by Dr Joseph Mifsud, chairman of the Socrates Co-ordinating Committee. It was chaired by Joseph Vancell, co-ordinator of the local Lingua Action.
The keynote speaker was Dan Makin, international projects co-ordinator at the Institut Superieur du Commerce in Paris. He gave two presentations: the first, "Language Policy in Education, Training and Culture", dealt with the current linguistic situation in Europe. It outlined the general principles of European language policies, introduced the various EU educational programmes, explored the contents of Lingua 1 and 2 and presented the basic requirements of a Lingua project.
Mr Makin's second presentation, "Application Procedures and Assessment for Socrates Transnational Cooperation Projects", focused on the actual Lingua process, mainly on the application procedures. The criteria of eligible Lingua projects were discussed from many angles.
In addition to the presentations, the seminar included workshops. The participants were divided into small groups which all discussed the same theme: what are the possibilities and problems of doing a transnational Lingua project. The discussion was very enthusiastic and lively. The participants unanimously agreed on the importance of promoting Maltese and the need to find new ways to strengthen Maltese in a European-wide context.
More information on Lingua can be obtained by contacting Mr Vancell at the Socrates Office, c/o Room 105, Administration Building, University of Malta, Msida MSD 06, tel: 3290-2204, fax: 2132-3807, e-mail: joseph.vancell@um.edu.mt or lingua@um.edu.mt