Languages and cultures from all over the world will be celebrated in a special event in Liverpool.
Communities who have made their home in the city are staging a special community day at Broadgreen International School on Saturday 28 September as part of the International Day of Language.
The day which highlights the importance of language is being staged by Liverpool Supplementary Schools Network . It will be opened by the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Councillor Gary Millar.
Also attending will be Councillor Jane Corbett, cabinet member for children’s services, Professor Gerard Pillay, Vice Chancellor, Liverpool Hope University, Denia Kincade , Head of Humanities and Modern Languages at City of Liverpool College and Phil Daniels, Chief Executive Officer, Liverpool Learning Partnership.
The Arabic, Greek, Polish, Iranian, Somali,Indian and Chinese communities among others will be represented at the community day. It is expected that about 200 people will attend.
It will feature singing, dancing, national dress and food from the various communities,.
The Lord Mayor said: “Liverpool is a very diverse city which is home to many communities with more than 90 languages spoken in our schools.
“While these communities have largely integrated into our society they also wish to retain their identity and culture and one of the best ways of doing that is through language.
“So, this day to mark the importance of language is a great way of celebrating the diversity of our city and it will be a very colorful and exciting event.”
This is the second year this day has been held in Liverpool and following the success of the initial event more support has been given to supplementary schools with LCVS offering additional help with fundraising.
Liverpool John Moores University is also supporting the day and staff and trainee teachers from the Faculty of Education, Health and Community will attend as part of their on-going commitment to the “Community Placement Project”.
Trainee students helped at last year’s event and they were offered placement at the supplementary schools helping them with understanding the diversity of the pupils they will teach in the future.
What they Say:
“This day will be a wonderful celebration of the rich variety of languages spoken in our city. It will also demonstrate the great contribution the various communities make to our city.”
Councillor Jane Corbett, City Council cabinet member for children’s services
“We are fortunate that so many different communities choose Liverpool as their new home town and bring to the city the richness of their culture. This annual celebration of the Network – International Day of Languages – is a great opportunity to show our appreciation and thank all the teachers and support staff, trustees and volunteers for the fantastic job they do to equip the children and young people for the future challenges.”
Colleen Martin, City Council, Assistant Director for Supporting Communities
“Trainees, through reflective exercises, will be able to link the impact of the different learning environments to the pupil, developing this further in their practice within the school”.
Peter Horsfall (Head of Educational Partnerships, JMU)
‘The work with the Liverpool Supplementary School Network has provided a great opportunity for LJMU trainee teachers to develop a strong awareness of the impact of grassroots and community centred education activities’
Amina Ismail (Faculty Inclusion and Diversity Officer, JMU)
