By Manal Abdel Fattah
The European Day of Languages has been celebrated especially in Europe since its
establishment in 2001.
This year, embassies and cultural institutes representing 11
European countries have decided to celebrate the day in Egypt and to offer Cairo’s public
the opportunity to experience the linguistic and cultural diversity of Europe first-hand, in line
with the EU motto Unity in Diversity.
The event is held under the auspices of EUNIC Egypt.
The event aims to raise awareness of the rich variety of languages spoken across
Europe and in Egypt, and to highlight the benefits of language learning as a powerful tool
for intercultural understanding and dialogue.
Participants will engage in a series of
educational and interactive activities designed to showcase the advantages of multilingualism for both personal and professional development.
The program will also feature an engaging evening of live performances by four poets
from Czechia and four from Egypt.
In a dynamic slam poetry format, the audience will have the opportunity to vote, adding an interactive element to the experience.
The European Day of Languages in Egypt promises to be an enriching experience that
underscores the importance of communication and cultural exchange.
Timetable of activities
Morning program for schools 10.00am to 2.00pm
The morning program is tailored to high school students aged 15 to 18. The organisers
estimate that 10 schools and 350 to 400 students will participate.
In the classrooms at
Instituto Cervantes, groups of students will have the opportunity to learn the very basics of the languages in a ”class zero” lessons format, and they will be able to take several such lessons during the morning program – the belief of the organisers is that this experience may help them to guide their further language education.
Afternoon program for public 5.00pm to 10.00pm
5.00pm to 7.30pm
There will be a well-marked and visible information stand on site, where visitors will
always find accurate information about upcoming program.
There will be several activities
for visitors, which will take place both indoors and outdoors:
● “Cultural stations“ of participating European countries with varied activities at
each station.
● Competitions and activities, i.e. Get to know Europe quiz, word matching,
listening activity, Arabic words in European languages.
7.30pm
Announcement of competitions winners
7.45pm to 10.00pm
Slam Poetry Night with 4 poets from Czechia and 4 poets from Egypt performing their
poems live on stage in 2 rounds. Audience will be voting for the best performances.
The event is co-organised by Instituto Cervantes, Czech Centres and the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Cairo, Leitorado do Camões, Instituto da Cooperação e da Língua – Cairo, Embassy of Greece and Greek Cultural Centre, Goethe-Institut Kairo, Embassy of France in Egypt, Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Cairo, Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Cairo, Embassy of Switzerland in Egypt, Embassy of Sweden in Cairo, Embassy of Ukraine in Cairo, EUNIC Egypt
