Year 2001 was declared the European Year of Languages by the Council of Europe, the European Union, and UNESCO. In announcing the initiative, the three bodies argued for the importance of language learning for personal development and suggested that lingual competencies are needed to respond to economic, social, and cultural changes in society. The declaration was accompanied by initiatives in most European countries; it was expected to draw attention to Europe's cultural richness and to support closer collaboration among people, schools, and institutions. One initiative was a Lingual Education Week for Adults, held May 5-11 to emphasize that it is never too late to learn a new language.
Famous quotes containing the words european, year and/or languages:
“Americans want action for their money. They are fascinated by its self-reproducing qualities if it’s put to work.... Gold-hoarding goes against the American grain; it fits in better with European pessimism than with America’s traditional optimism.”
—Paula Nelson (b. 1945)
“They tapped at my eyelids and touched my lips with an invitation to grief.
But it was no reason I had to go because they had to go.
Now up, my knee, to keep on top of another year of snow.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“The less sophisticated of my forbears avoided foreigners at all costs, for the very good reason that, in their circles, speaking in tongues was commonly a prelude to snake handling. The more tolerant among us regarded foreign languages as a kind of speech impediment that could be overcome by willpower.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)