Season's Greetings!

eSkills Panorama Launch

At the conference “Anticipating skills needs at EU level” held on 7 December 2012 in Brussels, DG Education and Culture  and DG Employment,  unveiled the joint effort: eSkills Panorama (www.eskillspanorama.ec.europa.eu), a platform that provides European and national information about skills, competences and jobs. In her welcome address, Commissioner A. Vassiliou underlined the necessity to rethink education: skills needs are changing; to combat youth unemployment (up to 50% in some Member States)  re-skilling and up-skilling is necessary. Member States need to carry out reforms towards open learning and to deepen the understanding of the labour market. 

The eSkills Panorama is not an isolated initiative but part of the eSkill Strategy. Amongst the tools available are: 

• ESCO – the European multilingual classification of skills and competences
• EURES – the European Job Mobility Portal
• PLOTEUS – the Portal on Learning Opportunities throughout the European Space)
• EUROPASS – where you can create your “Five documents to make your skills and qualifications clearly and easily understood in Europe”

The European Commission’s Communication “Rethinking Education”

European education and training systems continue to fall short in providing the right skills for employability, and are not working adequately with business or employers to bring the learning experience closer to the reality of the working environment. These skills mismatches are a growing concern for European industry's competitiveness, says the most recent Communication of the European Commission, appealing to EU Member States to set actions. 

The Communication underlines the importance of tapping on the potential of ICT for education and teaching and highlights the need to develop transversal skills (such as problem solving, team work etc. often also referred to as soft skills) and entrepreneurial skills as they not only contribute to new business creation but also to the employability of young people. 

In this respect, the Communication emphasises at several instances the importance of languages. In a world of international exchanges, the ability to speak foreign languages is a factor for competitiveness. Languages are more and more important to increase levels of employability and mobility of young people.

Further education in STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – is needed if Europe wants to compete with countries like Brazil, China and India that spend more on high skilled STEM education than the USA, Japan and UK together. 

More information about the full document.

Multilingualism is key for business, growth and the Europe2020 strategy

The Final Workshop of CELAN – Language strategies for competitiveness and employability took place on 15 November 2012 in Brussels and was attended by key stakeholders such as business associations, Higher Education representatives, decision-makers but also companies that implemented language strategies successfully and language technology providers. 

"Multilingualism is key for business, growth and the Europe2020 strategy" emphasised Sonia Peressini, DG EAC, Multilingualism Unit, in her welcome address. And Wolfgang Mackiewicz, Freie Universität Berlin and CELAN coordinator evoked again the two main tenets CELAN came to: "multilingualism needs to be business-driven, and "no size fits all", in particular for SMEs". 

Workshop presentations :

• CELAN Final Workshop Wolfgang Mackiewicz
• CELAN Final Workshop Gustavo Gonzales
• CELAN Final Workshop Christian Galinski
• CELAN Final Workshop Mike Hammersley
• CELAN Final Workshop Margaretha Mazura
• CELAN Final Workshop Gerald Lobermeier

The beta version of a needs assessment tool is available now. Any feed-back is highly appreciated to letter-box@emfs.eu.

NEW VENUE for CELAN Final Workshop

The CELAN Final Workshop on "Language Strategies for competitiveness and employability" will take place at the Hotel Leopold, rue du Luxembourg 35, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.

The workshop starts at 13.00 hrs until 17.00 and is followed by a networking cocktail.

Final Programme. 

CELAN Final Workshop 15 November, Brussels

The Final Workshop of the CELAN project - Language Strategies for Competitiveness and Employability - will take place on 15 November 2012 in Brussels. 

"In the age of globalization, an ever increasing number of products and services are offered to a growing number of language communities... I have to admit that I was overwhelmed by these findings – and their economic implications" says Wolfgang Mackewicz, coordinator of the CELAN project. Join us and find out your language needs and be part of the panel discussion on future strategies. 

Programme 

Registration

EU-China Language Forum: cooperation and bilateral relations

On 16 October 2012, a EU-China Language Forum will be held. With trade and political relations between China and Europe on the rise, the role of language and language education is crucial. More than 2000 Chinese students have benefited from Erasmus Mundus grants to study in the EU, while the Chinese government yearly provides 200 scholarships for European students to study Chinese in China. This conference will analyse and explore potential policy measures and practices to improve language education, cooperation and bilateral relations between China and Europe.
Registration are still possible until Monday, 15 October 2012.

More information about EU-China Language Forum.

The 3rd International Symposium on Multilingualism on Cyberspace

As emphasized repeatedly in Net.lang, towards the multilingual cyberspace [1], cyberspace presents both, a threat and an opportunity, for languages. Threat, because the most equipped languages impose themselves ; opportunity, because, by its accessibility and universality, cyberspace can give a channel to those who need it, directly, as a recording option, and indirectly, through the dissemination of knowledge.

The 3rd International Symposium on Multilingualism on Cyberspace, organized by the World Network for Linguistic Diversity, is going to take place in Paris from 21 to 23 November 2012.  It will be open to a wide audience in order to make available the issues of linguistic diversity in the digital world and to facilitate understanding of the issues by all persons interested in the development and promotion of languages. Cyberspace will be taken in the broad sense including new media.

4 subjects have been selected by the III SIMC Scientific Council members : 

• Governance and international cooperation for multilingualism
• Languages and multilingualism in virtual education
• Multilingualism and language technologies 
• Multilingualism, cyberspace and labour market

More information about The third International Symposium on Multilingualism on Cyberspace

European Day of Languages

Yesterday, 26 September, the EU celebreated the European Day of Language. The importance of languages is recognised at political as well as practical level. The twitter of the Digital Agenda stated that "Language is key for the digital single market. 

Only 18 % of Internet users regularly buy on-line in another language than their native one"; or the tweet of Jochen Hummel, chairman of LT Innovate: "Vielsprachigkeit ist die grösste  Huerde der Digital Agenda; loesen wir sie, ist Europa fitter als jeder andere fuer den Weltmarkt" (Multilingualism is the biggest challenge of the Digital Agenda; when we are able to solve it, Europe will be more fit than anybody else for the global market). 

Visit our websites - CELAN and LT-Innovate to learn about how we can support your multilinguality.

"Opening up Education": Let's shape the future of Europe's education

DG Education and Culture is currently working on a proposal for an initiative on "Opening up Education", which aim is to exploit the full potential of Open Education Resources and digital technologies for the modernisation of education and training systems, in order to supply the necessary skills for a knowledge-based economy, growth and jobs (EU2020). A public consultation is now online. We invite you to shape the future of Europe's education and answer the survey. It will be open until 13 November 2012.

More information about "Opening up Education".

Is Linguistic Diversity the next greater business challenge?

A recent study by The Economist "Competing across borders: how cultural and communication barriers affect business" reveals the importance of languages for businesses. Two-thirds of respondents say that differences in language and culture make it difficult to gain a foothold in unfamiliar markets.

Some 47% say their companies do not offer enough training to hone their employees’ language and communication skills, and 40% believe there is not enough emphasis placed on recruiting or selecting people who are suited to cross-cultural environments. Misunderstandings rooted in cultural differences present the greatest obstacle to productive cross-border collaboration

Interestingly, linguistic diversity – or the lack of it – is considered by some margin to be a greater business challenge in Latin America and southern Europe than elsewhere. For example, 38% of those surveyed in Brazil and 40% in Spain believe the difficulty in communicating in non-native languages to be a significant hindrance to effective cross-border relations.

More information about the full report (.pdf).

CELAN Partner meeting in progress - 8th June, 2012

Language = Intelligence: LTi Summit in Brussels, 19 June 2012

Europe's language technology stakeholders will meet in Brussels on 19 June 2012 at the first LT Innovate Summit (www.lt-innovate.eu) to showcase best solutions for areas such as eSkills, eHealth, eGovernment and to discuss future challenges of language technologies with industry, users and decision makers. 

More information: Programme

Participation in the event is free of charge, but registration is obligatory

Twitter: #LTi2012

Almost Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Translation

Ms. Lola Bendana, Director of Multi-Languages Corporation, and Mr. Alan Melby, Professor of Linguistics at Brigham Young University, just published a book together: "Almost Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Translation".

There are two parts : the first one is for everyone and "especially for those involved in requesting translation services" and the other one is especially for Translators and Project Managers.

This publication is freely available : click here

Share, Cooperate, Grow - the LIND Web Forum

More than 180 participants met in Brussels for the first LIND Web Forum on 24 May 2012, organised by DG Translation of the European Commission. Rytis Martikonis, Director-General of DGT, opened the Forum, followed by high-level key note speakers and panelists, covering the broad spectrum of the Language Industry. The industry faces several challenges that were the topics of the afternoon parallel sessions: Statistics, classification for the sector, qualifications & employability and the societal role of the Language Industry. CELAN put forward its classification suggestions developed in the course of the project. The coffee and lunch breaks provided a convivial atmosphere of networking amongst representatives from industry, academia, associations, EC and individual translators which made the event an attractive meeting point. The LIND website promotes visibility and recognition of the Language Industry by collecting data and information concerning the sector.

The European Commission is rethinking skills in the context of Europe 2020

The EC published a roadmap for “Rethinking skills in the context of Europe 2020”. Amongst others, the roadmap mentions the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET2020) that stresses the importance of transversal competences such as entrepreneurship, digital competence and multilingualism. As such, it endorses the findings of many eJobs profiles.  Another roadmap deals with the Internationalisation of Higher Education. As with the roadmap before, the emphasis on language learning and multilingualism is considered an important asset for internationalisation.

More information about all the published roadmaps

Les compétences transversales sont déterminantes

Le secteur des techniques d'information et de communication (TIC) estime qu'il va générer plus de 700.000 emplois en Europe dans les prochaines années. Paradoxalement, ce ne sont pas les compétences techniques qui semblent poser problème mais bien les compétences transversales telles qu'être en accord avec la strategie d'entreprise, être orienté client, être attentif aux détails, ...

François Adoue, responsable français de l'Observatoire Européens des métiers de l'internet, interviewé par RMC, explique que ce sont pourtant ces compétences qui seront déterminantes à l'embauche.

Plus d'information à propos de l'interview de François Adoue sur e-Jobs Observatory.

Certified Terminology Manager Webinar

TermNet, the Network for Terminology, organises a Webinar on "ECQA Certified Terminology Manager", on 24 May, from 4.00 to 5.00 pm. This is the English version for international attendance, after a successful Webinar in German held recently.
Reserve your Webinar sear now at: 
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/439810278

Poliglotti4.eu - a new Language Observatory

Get to know the initiative Poliglotti4.eu, with its special importance for a world in which multilingualism is becoming reality day by day!
Poliglotti4.eu is a project promoting multilingualism in Europe - the result of the deliberations of the EU Civil Society Platform on Multilingualism. The website, also known as the online Language Observatory, reports on best practice in language policy and language learning, and provides policymakers, teachers, learners and civil society organisations with a powerful set of tools for benchmarking and enhancing their activities in three focused sectors: Early Language Education; Lifelong Learning; Social and Community Services.
The website exists in 3 languages but the News section is truly polyglot.

Translation Studies Days 2012

DG Translation is organising Translation Studies Days on 20 and 21 September 2012, the event where academia, public translation services and the language industry meet to discuss studies covering a wide range of topics regarding translation and multilingualism.
The studies discussed during this conference, carried out by or on behalf of the Directorate-General for Translation of the European Commission (DGT) show how translation and multilingualism contribute to achieving the goals set by the European Union between now and 2020. Check out the draft programme and register here. 

LT Innovate - the Forum for Europe's Language Technology

LT Innovate is the new Forum for Europe's Language Technology industry. Its main goals are: to promote Language Technology as a key enabling technology for Europe's economy and society; to unify the LT SMEs for increased competitiveness in the global market place; to facilitate technology transfer from research to the market; and to enhance the sector's visibility vis-à-vis users. A directory displays companies and their products that may be of interest for business users. The EU Corner provides links to other language-oriented initiatives, amongst them the Business Platform for Multilingualism and the CELAN project.

EMF attended the e-Skills Week stakeholders opening conference

EMF as e-Skills Week stakeholder attended on 19 March 2012 the  e-Skills Week stakeholders opening conference in Brussels. The Conference bought together all stakeholders – such as high-level public authorities, key industry representatives and research organisations - to discuss the current situation and needs of the e-Skilled workforce.

The event featured a plenary session on e-Skills policy in practice, as well as panel debates on the topic of e-Skills with both young people and ICT professionals.

More events and activities are foreseen for the upcoming weeks, culminating in a dedicated e-Skills Week final conference on 30 March 2012.

"Lexicograffiti" at the European Parliament

The Terminology Coordination Unit of the European Parliament organised The Lexicograffiti Seminar,  the 4th seminar of the cycle Terminology in the Changing World of Translation, aimed to expand translators’ knowledge in the field of terminology and other related domains essential to their profession. Among the speaker was Prof. Gerhard Budin, partner in the CELAN project.
Visit the TermCoord website for links to terminology data bases, terminology networks worldwide and EU bodies dealing with translation.

Executive Training Programme in Japan and Korea

The European Commission supports European company executives who want to get immersed into the business culture of Japan and Korea. 45 weeks in the country, of which 12 actively in a Japanese or Korean company. The course includes cultural, economic, historic and linguistic aspects and is open to all sectors. More information can be found at www.euetp.eu. 
Deadline for the next submission of applications is 31 May 2012.
You may be also interested in the EU Gateway programme in which the European Commission funds business missions to Japan and Korea.

Round Table and Business Platform Report

Despite of the strike emptying the streets of Brussels that Monday, 30 January 2012, the CELAN Round Table attracted 35+ high level stakeholders in the Language for Business arena. During the first part, Wolfgang Mackiewicz, CELAN coordinator, gave a short introduction after which the Steering Committee members presented the activities carried out so far. Here are the presentations for downloading:
CELAN Overview - Margaretha Mazura, EMF
Language needs for European Businesses - Gustavo Gonzalez-Qujano, COTANCE
Language Industry Stock Taking - Christian Galinksi, INFOTERM
CELAN platform and tools - Mike Hammersley, FAV

Chaired by Professor Stephen Hagen, an expert panel consisting of representatives from industry and the learning environment reflected on CELAN results and discussed the best way to raise awareness about the importance of multilingualism to businesses. Some of the key outcome were: Sensibilise the young for languages; give real-life use cases as examples, ideally around a successful (language) business model; raise  awareness of opportunities in a global world; and finally, the confirmed fact that "not one size fits all".

The Business Platform for Multilingualism meeting the following morning enlarged the audience while contributing to the findings of the Round Table. The meeting was kick-started by Belén Bernaldo de Quirós, Head of Unit for Multilingual Policy at DG EAC. She gave an overview of the political landscape of multilingualism at EU level, emphasising the most recent Council Conclusions on Mobility that gave a clear mandate to the EC to support initiatives like the Business Platform. [Presentation of B. Bernaldo]
Kristina Cunningham, Deputy Head of Unit, gave an overview on "Languages for competitiveness and employability",  while Peter Birch, Head of Sector, EACEA, pointed out the synergies with other LLP projects in his presentation "Languages for business - the LLP experience". The presentations were followed by interactive "World Café" type sessions that discussed the role of higher education for language learning, the way businesses can be reached, and gave indications on the future activities of the Business Platform.

Speakers at CELAN Round Table

Have a look at the speakers at the CELAN Round Table and take the opportunity to talk with reknown experts on language and business at the networking lunch before, the networking cocktail after the event.If you want to register please contact us.

Download the draft programme
Download the speakers list

Language needs of businesses - Round Table 30 Jan 2012

The CELAN project investigates the language needs of businesses and provides solutions to language strategies. The Round Table is geared at businesses, business representative organisations, language service and technology providers, training institutions, etc. It will discuss where market meets training and what should be done in the future to improve competitiveness and employability through language strategies.

The Round Table is followed by the meeting of the Business Platform for Multilingualism on Tuesday, 31 January morning. For more information, have a look at the programme.


Download the draft programme

Le cyberspace, chance et défi pour les langues

Dans la conférence du 22 novembre 2011 organisée par DLF Bruxelles-Europe, le « Le cyberespace, chance et défi pour les langues », les intervenants sont tombés d’accord que la survie des langues est liée à leur présence sur l’Internet. Le cyberespace est résolument l’avenir du multilinguisme. Le développement des technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC) y jouent un rôle déterminant. Pour lire la synthèse, cliquez ici.