The theme of this online symposium, hosted by the Babylon Center for the Study of Superdiversity, Tilburg University, the Netherlands, on 7-9 December 2020, was inspired by the work carried out at Babylon regarding the online-offline nexus. Actually, this was the topic of the symposium’s last panel discussion, based on the presentation delivered by the late Jan Blommaert, to whose memory the ECSPM dedicated the symposium – the last academic event at which the eminent scholar spoke.
Recognising the role of technology, digital resources and practices for multilingualism, symposium participants presented projects which have led to digital tools for language learning and use, while it featured a fascinating panel of technology experts who presented the new European flagship project, in which the ECSPM is a partner, the European Language Equality, having to do with multilingual technologies. Other significant projects being carried out in different parts of Europe were presented by distinguished speakers, motivated by ECSPM’s concerns with linguistic justice, support to minority and regional languages, as well as speakers’ linguistic rights. Multilingual policy in education was also one of the symposium focal points – hence the keynote presentation and the lively panel discussion on the issue.
Presentations
Links to presentations and (pre)recordings in green
INTRODUCTORY TALKS
THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE OF THE ECSPM by Bessie Dendrinos, ECSPM President
THE BABYLON CENTRE’S WORK ON THE ONLINE-OFFLINE NEXUS IN SUPER-DIVERSITY, by Massimiliano Spotti, Deputy Director of Babylon
POSITION ‘PAPERS’
MOVING BEYOND THE BINARY OF ‘MULTILINGUALISM’ AND ‘THE LANGUAGE OF SCHOOLING’ IN EDUCATION, by Piet Van Avermaet
(SUPER)DIVERSITY AND NATIONAL LANGUAGES, discussion based on a pre-recorded presentation by Johan Van Hoorde
PROJECTS AND CASE STUDIES
BEAM (Bilingues émergents à l’école maternelle): A whole school approach to developing a plurilingual habitus, by Andrea Young
COMBI & THE VIRTUAL LANGUAGE APP: an innovative multi-didactic approach, by Cor van der Meer
SPEAKABOO project, by Jelske Dijkstra
BEYOND BILINGUALISM: DIGITALLY MEDIATED LINGUISTIC RISK-TAKING AS AN LX USER, by Nikolay Slavkov, and as a pre-recorded presentation
MINORITIES AND MULTILINGUALISM IN THE CREATIVE SECTORS: CHALLENGES AND CASE STUDIES by Prof. Elin Haf Gruffydd Jones
DESIGNING CURRICULA FOR ADULT REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS: A multilingual, critical literacy perspective, by Bessie Mitsikopoulou
HOW MULTILINGUAL CREATIVE PRACTICES SHAPE MIGRANT WOMEN’S IDENTITIES, based on a pre-recorded presentation by George Androulakis
THE RATIONALE AND STRATEGIES OF THE EQUILING (CRITICAL LINGUISTIC AWARENESS AND SPEAKER AGENCY) by Luisa Martín Rojo
EFNIL AND ITS ACTIVITIES: NATIONAL LANGUAGES AND MULTILINGUALISM IN EUROPE based on a pre-recorded presentation by Johan Van Hoorde
THE EUROPEAN CHARTER CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES PROJECT, CROSSING BORDERS WITH YOUR OWN LANGUAGE, by Sabrina Rasom
PANEL DISCUSSIONS
RATIONALE FOR MULTILINGUAL POLICIES IN EDUCATION AND HOW TO ADVOCATE THEM, a pre-recorded position talk by Piet Van Avermaet. Discussants: Linda Fischer, Terry Lamb, Theo Marinis and Tanja Rinker
TOWARDS DIGITAL LANGUAGE EQUALITY IN EUROPE by John Judge, Katrin Marheinecke and Georg Rehm
OLD NEW MEDIA: HOW BIG ISSUES REOCCUR WHENEVER NEW MEDIA APPEAR (pre-recorded position talk) by Jan Blommaert. Discussants: Bessie Mitsikopoulou and Nikolay Slavkov
