The opening event took place on 23rd of March 2024.

Heritage Language Education across Europe - perspectives, opportunities and challenges

Thanks for everybody who was joining.
The program was:

Key points:

1. Keynote Speech: Gisi Cannizzaro (Heritage Language Education Network)
   
   Countless ways to support HL educators
   
   “Heritage language (HL) education programs benefit society in multiple ways. At the individual level, the maintenance of linguistic and cultural heritage by HL programs can lead to an overall increased well-being of multilingual students. At the societal level, HL programs build knowledge and skills that help communities sustain a culture of peace, global citizenship, and appreciation of cultural diversity.
   
   HL programs are most successful when they are backed by the broader communities where they operate. Something as simple as citizens being aware of which heritage language education programs are available in their region can lead to greater sustainability of those programs! In this talk, we highlight additional ways appreciation and support can be shown for active language groups that arrange language and culture education to multilingual children. In light of the EU project “Your Language Counts,” we show that a great deal be done worldwide to improve the circumstances surrounding this valuable form of education, making reference to the recently launched Global Call to Action for Heritage Language Education.”
2. EU-Projekt “Your Language Counts! All languages matter in a multilingual society, starting in school.”:
   - Discover the project supported by the EU and Erasmus +.
   - Learn how this initiative promotes intercultural awareness across Europe.
3. Interactive Poll: What are your experiences with HLT?
4. Panel Discussion:
   - “Heritage Language Education in Sweden, Finland, Netherlands and Germany: Nurturing Inclusion and Equity”