Talenfeest 2009
The Animation Centre for Languages is organising the Language Festival for the fourth successive year. And this is also the fourth time that the House of Representatives has lent its support to this event.
We are pleased to do so. Which institution is in a better position to uphold multilingualism than the Belgian Federal Parliament? Belgium is one of the European countries where various languages are spoken. And that can be seen right here in the Parliament, in the plenary session room, where members of our country’s three linguistic communities hold debates.
Persoonlijk hecht ik ontzettend veel belang aan de contacten tussen de taalgemeenschappen in ons land. Deze instelling vormt een brug tussen de gemeenschappen en moet die rol ook ten volle spelen. Geen enkele kans mag onbenut blijven. Maar ik geef toe: in dit huis wordt getolkt. Het is dus zeker niet zo dat alle parlementsleden de andere landstalen perfect beheersen. En dat is begrijpelijk. Parlementaire debatten kunnen immers behoorlijk technisch zijn. En bovendien komen hier de meest uiteenlopende onderwerpen aan bod: de ene keer gaat het over gezondheidszorg, de andere keer over sociale zekerheid, weer een andere keer over fiscaliteit, over energie, noem maar op.
Indien we zouden verwachten dat de leden van het Federaal Parlement zo twee- of drietalig zijn, dat ze in de andere landstalen kunnen deelnemen aan gespecialiseerde debatten over al die onderwerpen, zou slechts een heel klein deel van onze landgenoten nog parlementslid kunnen worden. We zouden met andere woorden heel veel landgenoten uitsluiten. En dat kan de bedoeling niet zijn. In de Kamer van volksvertegenwoordigers – de naam zegt het al – moeten alle groepen uit de samenleving vertegenwoordigd zijn.
Bien des parlementaires possèdent néanmoins une bonne connaissance de l’autre langue nationale ou l’acquièrent au fil du temps. En effet, de nombreux membres suivent des cours de langue ou effectuent une immersion linguistique pendant les vacances parlementaires. Ils le font parce qu’ils comprennent l’intérêt d’être multilingue dans un contexte où des personnes d’horizons différents sont amenées à se côtoyer et à coopérer. Régulièrement, des membres néerlandophones et francophones déposent ensemble des propositions de loi. De nombreux contacts, formels ou non, précèdent évidemment de telles initiatives. Je songe aux échanges à l’occasion de réunions mais aussi aux concertations informelles dans les couloirs. Dans ce Parlement, la coopération va donc bien au-delà des frontières linguistiques.
Members of Parliament will undoubtedly agree with me when I say that multilingualism is of fundamental importance. That is even more true for young people. Young men and women who speak more than one language have far greater opportunities on the labour market. That has always been the case, but in times of economic recession, the importance of multilingualism is even greater, if that is possible. Young people have got the message. That is why many of them spend part of their education studying abroad.
This enables them not just to get to know another university and another language, but also a different mentality, a different way of life, a different world. They find out how great it is to be able to talk to your neighbours. They realise that learning a new language and getting to know a new culture broaden your horizons.
Multilingualism is also an effective weapon against conflicts. In a globalised world, people with different backgrounds come into contact with each other more than happened in the past. If they understand each other, they will eventually cooperate and do business with each other. This creates shared economic interests and precisely because of those economic interests, they will avoid conflict.
It is never too soon to start learning a foreign language. The organisers of this Language Festival understood that perfectly. That is why, like previous years, they also had children in mind when they devised the programme.
The organisers also dispel the myth that learning foreign languages is difficult or boring. Anyone looking at the programme of the Language Festival will immediately want to take part. The programme is full of fascinating workshops: there is a quiz leading participants around the parliament, there is a game of bingo requiring people to juggle with numbers and words, there is scope for Karaoke singing in a foreign language, and much more besides.
The people from the Animation Centre for Languages will be delighted to explain the aims and the programme themselves. This year too, they have shown themselves to be particularly ambitious. They are even planning a record attempt. In recent weeks and months, they were working hard so that today, in this plenary session room, they could bring together people of as many different nationalities as possible. I don’t know whether they will achieve that goal. We will find out from Amaryllis Luyten, Director of the Animation Centre for Languages.
Mrs. Luyten, I would like to thank you sincerely – on behalf of the House of Representatives – for the excellent cooperation, and congratulate you on this top-class event. I wish you, and all the staff of the centre, tremendous success.
And I have now the honor to give the floor to my colleague Mr. Hugo Vandenberghe, Vice-President of the Senate.
