This November various AEGEE locals all over Europe were celebrating the annual European Day of Languages (EDL), giving the opportunity to the local community to taste a bit of Europe.
One of those locals was AEGEE-Riga who organised their EDL “Colour languages” already the 11th year in a row. For the first time they went out of the usual school classes and gave the lectures also in a cafe Coffee Inn.
“With every minute we learnt something new, opening ourselves to a completely different culture and immersing into the whirlwind of experiences. We were listening to French music, singing in Italian, learning Georgian children rhymes, getting to know the anthem of Latvia in the sign language, playing Danish games and enjoying loads of other wonderful and useful activities which let us experience 12 different cultures within 3 days,” says Laima Kazeka, President and PR Responsible of AEGEE-Riga.
It is also interesting to know that actually the official European Day of Languages (as organised by the Council of Europe) takes place in September, two months earlier than in AEGEE locals. However, due to the fact that students in various countries start their university later and not every university is open already in September, long time ago AEGEE decided to organise their EDL in November. Various AEGEE locals even choose their own dates and time, making it not only a day, but several days or even a week of languages. And some others do it a bit later – e.g., AEGEE-Eindhoven is just getting to ready for their EDL in December, when they will learn Latvian language as well!
How about your local and EDL? Share your experiences with us in the comment box!
Written by Anita Kalmane, AEGEE-Ogre