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| Presentation | Programme | Papers | The symposium in images |
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Overview The languages spoken in the European Union today –including the so-called majority, regional and minority language and those brought by immigration– represent the base in which to build the "union in diversity" of all citizens, groups, communities, and peoples that live together in Europe. To encourage such harmony, we must ask ourselves what kind of multilingualism should the European Union implement now and in the future. At the same time, it raises the question of how the linguistic rights of immigrants and those of receiving communities can be regulated and guaranteed and, more specifically, how the exercise of these rights could stimulate the social inclusion of newcomers who settle among minoritized linguistic communities that share their space with majority or dominant languages. Symposium The event tackled the fundamental question of how to respect and deal with the issue of new immigrants and their languages within a developing European context. Theoretical, practical and policy issues were debated, and the Catalan innovations in terms of promoting social inclusion through the Catalan language became a central inspiration of the discussions. The experience of regional “minority” languages was used as an invaluable set of experiences to deal with the linguistic diversity, and many society's key areas such as education, the health system, employment and the economy revealed that with a determined political effort and professional training it is possible to improve the quality of life of new migrants in real, practical ways, and in time to welcome such migrants as a permanent enrichment of societies. Selected reference documents - A Common Agenda for Integration, published by the European Commission |