On Monday October 15th, the European cultural institutes members of the European Union National Institutes for Culture - EUNIC in Lebanon, in collaboration with ASSABIL (Friends of Public Libraries Association), are celebrating the European Day of Languages in Lebanon through educational activities and games for young students at the Municipal Public Library of Geitawi. The program will focus on Europe’s linguistic and cultural diversity. On this occasion, the young students will have the opportunity to get crash courses in English, French, Danish, German, Italian, Romanian, Serbian, and Spanish. The event will also include movies and interactive vocabulary games, all centred on plurilingualism.
At the initiative of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, the European Day of Languages has been celebrated every year since 2001 on September 26th. Throughout Europe, 800 million Europeans represented in the 47 member states of the Council of Europe are encouraged to learn more languages, at any age, in and out of school. Being convinced that linguistic diversity is a tool for achieving greater intercultural understanding and a key element in the rich cultural heritage of our continent, EUNIC promotes plurilingualism and foreign language teaching in Lebanon. In Europe, in the framework of this day, a range of events is organized across the continent: activities for and with children, television and radio programs, language classes, and conferences.
EUNIC aims at establishing partnerships and networks amongst the European cultural institutes in any country. In Lebanon, the formation of such a network seeks to better coordinate the activities between the European Cultural institutes, organise joint initiatives, and respond collectively to European open calls for proposals in order to benefit from additional cultural funding. The members of EUNIC in Lebanon cluster are the British Council, the Danish Cultural Institute, the Goethe Institut, the Institutul Cultural Român, the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, the Instituto Cervantes, L'Institut français du Liban and the Embassy of Serbia as an associate member. The presidency of EUNIC in Lebanon is held for a second consecutive term by Dr. Dan Stoenescu, First Secretary of the Romanian Embassy, representing the Romanian Cultural Institute.
ASSABIL is a Lebanese non-governmental organization (NGO) that has been working since January 1997 to promote the development of public libraries in Lebanon. Its mission is to develop and promote public libraries throughout Lebanon. To support its mission, ASSABIL organises events around books; writes and publishes reader guides, children’s books, and educational games; produces audio-visual materials to encourage an appreciation of books and reading among parents and children; and supports two mobile libraries. ASSABIL manages Beirut's three municipal public libraries, operates two mobile libraries, and coordinates a network of public libraries throughout the country.
