Ambassadors and other officials representing various European embassies in Qatar at the official announcement of the event at the Cyprus Embassy yesterday. (Pic by: Abdul Basit / The Peninsula)
DOHA: The recently established European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) cluster in Qatar announced yesterday it will be offering “Crash Courses in 12 European Languages” at the French Institute in Qatar on Monday in celebration of the European Day of Languages.
Formally announcing the event at the Cyprus Embassy yesterday, Cyprus Ambassador Charalambos Panayides underscored the importance of the celebration of European Day of Languages proclaimed in 2001 to encourage language learning across Europe to promote multilingualism and intercultural understanding.
“The 26th of September is celebrated throughout Europe to draw attention to the linguistic and cultural diversity of Europe and at the same time in Qatar to promote and enhance cultural relations between European countries and the Qatari society,” said Panayides, who chairs the local presidency of the EU Council in Qatar in the second half of this year.
Free and open to everyone, EUNIC’s inaugural event will allow the participants to attend introductory classes on European languages of their choice including Bulgarian, Croatian, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish and Swedish.
“The idea is to offer an introductory course on European languages with native speakers as teachers. It will be an opportunity for anyone living in Qatar to get introduced and exposed to the diversity of European languages in Qatar,” Olivier Deseez, EUNIC Qatar cluster president, told The Peninsula.
“The European Day of Languages is an important moment for us. It symbolizes the unity of European countries in all their diversity. There are more than 200 languages spoken in the European Union and that excludes the languages spoken by citizens from other continents,’ said Deseez.
‘In Qatar, several possibilities exist today to learn European languages such as French at the French Institute, Spanish at Qatar University or Portuguese at the Translation and Interpreting Institute.”
He said the crash course, which is planned to be held annually, is among the initiatives the newly formed European cultural cluster in Qatar, would like to boost and support to teach European languages to the general public.
Although the event focuses on European languages, it will also comprise other cultural elements.
“We would like to introduce not only our language but also our culture. We will also serve some Swedish cookies, chocolates, coffee and fish. Everyone is welcome to come to the Swedish crash course,” Sweden Ambassador Ewa Polano told this daily.
The event will also feature screenings of European short films such as French, Portuguese and Croatian films, said Deseez.
The event is scheduled on Monday from 5pm to 9pm at the French Institute in Qatar.
Those who wish to participate may register at [email protected]
