The latest branch of Bilingualism Matters opened on June 6th in Rijeka, Croatia. Professor Antonella Sorace travelled from the Bilingualism Matters Centre at Edinburgh to attend the launch and lead a training event with local volunteers.
During the launch, Professor Sorace gave a lecture entitled “Child bilingualism: facts, benefits and challenges” to an audience including teachers, parents, health visitors, business leaders, and local government officials. Other speakers included officials from the University of Rijeka, the city office, and the head of the International office in the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports. Alongside the speeches were performances from a choir of primary school students singing in Italian, a local dialectal poet, and the Rijeka Youth (TRY) Theatre.
The director of the new branch, Dr Tihana Kras, said: “We are thrilled in the huge level of interest shown at all levels of society, which bodes well for the future of multilingualism in Croatia.”
The new branch is being set up as part of the AThEME project on multilingualism in Europe.
You can read more about the AThEME project in general by visiting the AThEME website:
Advancing the European Multilingual Experience (AThEME) .
You can read more about Bilingualism Matters’ role in the project by visiting our projects page:
Bilingualism Matters and Advancing the European Multilingual Experience (AThEME) .
