EUTOPIA Languages Week 2025

These events will take place online or in hybrid format and are open to the whole alliance.

Monday 3 March

 

• UW - 11:00-12:00 CET: Opening + Plenary Talk 
  More details coming soon!
• SU - 12:00-13:30 CET: IsiXhosa Taster course 
  Learn how to greet, introduce yourself and form basic sentences in isiXhosa. Also get to practise the three clicks! During these two hours you will learn how to start a basic conversation in isiXhosa and also end the conversation in basic, appropriate isiXhosa. We’ll share a list of important nouns and verbs to help you to create your own sentences. Wamkelekile! (Welcome!)
  Registration link (coming soon).

Tuesday 4 March

 

• SU - 12:00-13:30 CET: South African Sign Language Taster course
  Discover the basics of South African Sign Language (SASL) in this online session. This is your chance to explore the world of SASL in a fun and interactive environment. You are bound to learn at least one sign and get some insight into a whole new world. Join us and start your sign language journey today.
  Registration link coming soon.
• UNIVE - 15:00-16:00 CET: Performing "Things I found nelle viscere": Using art and creative writing to promote plurilingualism 
  The event is divided into two parts. In the first part, the artist and filmmaker Camilla Pontiggia will present her performance: “Things I found nelle viscere”. The performance is a tale of her experiences of growing up between South Africa and Italy. Guided by the viscerality of these formative experiences, Camilla unravels her personal encounters with coloniality as a (white, christian) woman in search of alternative forms of knowing, being, doing, and resisting. She does so through translanguaging, that is, through using and mixing the multiple languages (Italian, English, German, French, and Afrikaans) that are part of her linguistic repertoire and identity. In the second part, participants will be engaged in a creative writing plurilingual workshop inspired by Camilla’s performance.
  Register.

Wednesday 5 March

 

• SU - 12:00-13:30 CET: Afrikaans Taster course
  Discover the basics of Afrikaans. You will learn functional Afrikaans and get some insight into Afrikaans culture in a bite-sized lesson from an experienced presenter with over 20 years of know-how. Start your Afrikaans journey here and get ready for a fun and informative experience.
  Registration link coming soon.

Thursday 6 March

• SU - 12:00-13:30 CET: Exploring and Developing a Multilingual Mindset 
  In today’s globalised world, having a multilingual mindset is an asset that opens doors to new opportunities, expands cultural understanding, and enhances personal and professional growth. Those with a multilingual mindset embrace the concept of linguistic diversity in how they think about and deal with other people, language learning and communication. This talk will explore the interconnections between SU's multilingual mindset and intercultural competence.
  Registration link coming soon.
• UW - 16:00-17:00 CET: Translation Roundtable
  More details coming soon
  Registration link coming soon.

Friday 7 March

• VUB - 10:00-12:00 CET: Data Management and Reproducibility in Linguistics and Literary Studies
  In this webinar led by Dr. Özgün Ünver (Data Steward at VUB), we will start by exploring what data means in linguistics and literary studies, and the basics of Research Data Management and Open Science. Then we will go deeper into practical aspects of research management with regard to managing data, ensuring reproducibility, and contributing to Open Science.
  Register.

These events will take place internally and in person at the institution running them.
 

Activities at the VUB

All the VUB film screenings below are on a drop-in basis, no need to register in advance, just show up!

• Monday 3 March, 14:00-16:00 CET, Film Screening: The Farewell (Chinese & English)
  Introduction: Jianwei Xu & Julie Deconinck
  Venue: TBC
• Tuesday 4 March, 18:00-20:00 CET, Film Screening: TBC
  Introduction: TBC
  Venue: TBC
• Wednesday 5 March, 16:00-18:00 CET, Film Screening: Como agua para chocolate (Spanish) 
  Speakers: Diana Castilleja & Pedro Chilibroste
  Venue: TBC
• Thursday 6 March, 18:00-20:00 CET, Film Screening: TBC (French)
  Introduction: Tatiana Pieters & Florence Gilbert
  Venue: TBC
• Friday 7 March, TBC CET, Film Screening: TBC
  Introduction:
  Venue: TBC

Activities at CY

• More details coming soon
  Stay tuned!
   

Activities at Warwick

Register for all your Warwick events: registration link coming soon.

• Friday 28 February, 15:00 - 18:00 GMT: Languages Games Night
  Join us for a fun, linguistically very diverse evening with classics such as Scrabble, Taboo and other board games, but also a quiz, a cockroach xylophone, silly games where you have to jump, run and twist to win, a treasure hunt and cool prizes for the winners. There will also be playful introductions to different languages such as German, French, Spanish, Italian and Arabic if you‘re up for a challenge.
  Venue: FAB, 4th floor
• Monday 3 March, 17:00-19:30 GMT: Film Screening: 'L'auberge espagnole' with an introduction by Dr Reece Goodall
  Xavier, an Economics graduate student from France decides to spend a year abroad in Barcelona, Spain to study. His fellow Erasmus students are from all over Western Europe and have a flatshare. Watch Xavier navigates this new life in which his flatmates all speak different languages and have different cultural standards.
  Introduction: Dr Reece Goodall
  Venue: Social Sciences building, Room S0.20
• Date TBC: Language Taster Sessions
  Come try a new language!
  Venue: FAB4.03 area

Activities at Stellenbosch University

To register for any of Stellenbosch's in-person events, registration link coming soon.

• Wednesday 5 March, 18:00 (SAST): Afrikaans Poetry Showcase (VER[r]AS)
  Join an intimate in-person space where students share their thoughts and creativity in a language they love. Students of the SU Department Afrikaans and Dutch will first share what Afrikaans means to them. Then they will read some of their own poetry depicting the different varieties of Afrikaans, published in Penseel, an annual student anthology of poetry and short prose. Poems written by students will showcase the broad cultural diversity in Afrikaans.  
  Facilitators: Department of Afrikaans and Dutch/VER[r]AS
  Venue: Kleine Bosch, 44 Banghoek Road, Stellenbosch 
• Thursday 6 March, 18:00-20:30 (SAST): Language Café
  Language learners unite! You are invited to join an evening of games and connection to informally practise the language you are learning with other language learners and first-language speakers. The languages represented at the Language Café will include all those languages that are taught at Stellenbosch University, through degree programmes or partner institutions. Currently, this list includes English, isiXhosa, Afrikaans, German, French, Dutch, Mandarin Chinese and Japanese.
  Facilitators: SU Language Centre
  Venue: Kleine Bosch, 44 Banghoek Road, Stellenbosch 
• Friday 7 March, 13:00-14:30 (SAST): Multilingual Karaoke
  Join us for an unforgettable karaoke experience where staff and students have the exciting chance to sign up in advance to showcase their vocal talents! Join in the fun as participants take the stage to belt out tunes in languages that resonate with them. This engaging event not only celebrates linguistic diversity but also creates space for the art of  performance, fostering a sense of camaraderie and cultural appreciation. So, join in, support the one behind the mic and let the multilingual melodies sound!
  Facilitators: SU Language Centre
  Venue: Neelsie cinema