Conference program and registration form: Second Symposium on Language and Politics, Belfast, 23-25 August 2001 (issues including language rights)

Wed Aug 15 16:29:23 UTC 2001

Participants' Version 4: 08.08.01
Second Symposium on Language and Politics
Queen's University Belfast, 23-25 August 2001

As previously announced, this year's Symposium will explore the
following on-going legislative measures critically and constructively
through presentations and workshops:

* Language rights
* Language equality legislation
* The European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages and its
ratification
* Secure status for language
* Language maintenance and provision
* Language planning
* The impact on all-Irish/all-Gaelic education the media, the economy, the
media, etc.

It will focus attention on the following three headings:
* Policy-making for language in general
* Implications and applications of language policy for politics, the economy
and society
* What model of bilingualism (or multilingualism?) is being used, or what
kind of bilingualism (or multilingualism?) is being created?

Presentations may be made in Irish or in English/Scots/Ulster-Scots. If in
Irish, simultaneous translation facilities will be made available for Irish
into English.

Venue: Queen's University Peter Froggatt Centre, Room 212

Costs: Participation in the symposium (including mid-morning and
mid-afternoon refreshments, the book-launch reception, and the Saturday
excursion to the Giant's Causeway) will be free to all speakers and
participants. However, the Symposium Dinner, to be held on the evening of 24
August 2001, in Queen's recently restored Great Hall will cost £25.00. We
very much hope that all those participating in the Symposium will attend the
dinner.

Accommodation: No accommodation is being arranged or has been reserved, but
the organisers are willing to assist with arrangements, if requested. You
may wish to contact Queen's University Common Room on +44 (0)28 9066 5938
(single ensuite rooms cost £36.50 per night including VAT and breakfast), or
Queen's Elms Halls of Residence on +44 (0)28 9038 1608 (older, very basic
single rooms are available on a room-only basis without breakfast - not last
year's brand-new rooms, and there will be no catering facilities!) at a cost
of £8.20 per night for UK students with a student card, £9.70 for non-UK
(including RofI) students with a student card, and £12.00 per night for
everyone else. In addition, there are several brand-new three- and four-star
hotels close to campus each of which still has availability at the following
rates which include a full breakfast:

**** The Wellington Park Hotel, 21 Malone Road, tel. +44 (0)28 9038 1111
23rd single £95, 24th single £60

**** The Malone Lodge Hotel, 60 Eglantine Avenue, tel. +44 (0)28 9038 8000
23rd single £85, 24th single £60

*** Duke's Hotel, 65-67 University Street, tel. +44 (0)28 9023 6666
23rd and 24th single £85

*** Madison's Hotel, 59-63 Botanic Avenue, tel. +44 (0)28 9050 9800
23rd single £70, 24th single £50

BB Tara Lodge Guesthouse, 36 Cromwell Road, tel. +44 (0)28 9059 0900
23rd single £60, 24th single £43.
In each case, double occupancy would cost only £10-£20 more.

Draft Programme
Thursday, 23 August 2001
12.00 onwards Registration: Peter Froggatt Centre Foyer
12.30 onwards Lunch: sandwich lunch available for purchase in Peter Froggatt
Centre Café or in nearby cafés and restaurants
13.30 Introduction
Session 1: Current Government Action in Northern Ireland and the Republic of
Ireland
13.45 NI Dr Edward Rooney, Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure
14.15 NI Stephen Peover, Deputy Secretary, Department of Education
14.45 RofI Seán Ó Cofaigh, Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and
the Islands
15.15 RofI Bertie Ó hAinmhire, Coimisiún na Gaeltachta
15.45 Tea
Session 2: Current or Desired Government Action in Scotland and Northern
Ireland
16.15 Scot Prof. Ken MacKinnon, Member, Ministerial Advisory Group on
Gaelic
16.45 Scot Dr Dauvit Horsbroch, University of Aberdeen
17.15 NI Repesentative, Tha Boord o Ulster-Scotch
17.45 Participant Workshop on Current Government Action
Discussion on Current Government Action
18.30 Close

Reception and Launch of Language Links
Queen's Visitor Centre

Friday 24 August 2001
European Dimensions: Language Rights and the European Charter
9.00 Dónall Ó Riagáin, Freelance Consultant
Language Rights/Human Rights and the Role of the European Charter for
Regional or Minority Languages
9.30 RofI Seán Ó Riain, Department of Foreign Affairs, Dublin
Language Planning, and the European Charter for Regional and Minority
Languages
European Comparisons
10.00 Low German Professor Manfred Görlach, University zu Köln
10.40 Coffee
11.00 Norway Dr Kevin McCafferty, University of Tromsø
11.40 Switzerland Professor Andreas Fischer, Universität Zürich
12.20 Participant Workshop on European Comparators and General Discussion
13.00 Lunch: sandwich lunch available for purchase in Peter Froggatt Centre
Café or in nearby cafés and restaurants
Linguistic Rights
14.00 NI Professor Brice Dickson, Professor Tom Hadden, Paddy Sloan,
Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
14.30 RofI Professor Fionnuala Ní Aolán, Human Rights Commission, Dublin
15.00 Scot Professor Robert Dunbar, University of Glasgow
15.30 Workshop on Linguistic Rights and General Discussion
16.30 Tea
Political Applications 1: The Case of Scots
17.00 Scot Ian Máté, General Register Office for Scotland
17.30 Scot Dr Caroline Macafee, University of Aberdeen
Scots: half-full or half-empty?
18.00 Scot Andy Eagle, Bielefeld
18.00 Discussion and Closure
19.30 to 20.00 Symposium Dinner, The Great Hall
Scot Michael Russell, MSP, Shadow Minister
Irene McGugan, MSP, Convenor, Cross-Pairtie Group i Scots
RofI Máire Ní Chochláin, TD, Junior Minister
NI Lord Laird of Artigarvan, Chair, Tha Boord o Ulstèr-Scotch
NI Mairéad Uí Mháirtín, Chair, Foras na Gaeilge
Saturday, 25 August 2001
Political Applications 2: Language and Politics in Northern Ireland
9.30 NI Gordon McCoy, ULTACH Trust
 From Cause to Quango?: The Peace Process and the Transformation of the
Irish
Language Movement
10.00 NI Ian Parsley, Freelance Consultant
10.30 NI Gavin Falconer, Belfast
The Scots Dialect in Northern Ireland - a Rival for Irish?
11.00 Coffee
Educational Applications
11.30 NI A Representative, Council for All-Irish Education, Northern
Ireland
12.00 RofI Brendan Mac Cormaic, Council for All-Irish Education,
Republic of Ireland
12.30 Workshop on Applications
General Discussion
13.15 Final Discussion
Closure
Lunch: sandwich lunch available for purchase in Peter Froggatt Centre Café
or in nearby cafés and restaurants
15.00 Excursion to the Giant's Causeway
Dinner (at own expense) in the Bushmills Inn

SECOND SYMPOSIUM on LANGUAGE and POLITICS
Queen's University Belfast, 23-25 August 2001
(organised within the AHRB Research Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies,
with additional funding from Foras na Gaeilge)
PARTICIPANT REGISTRATION FORM
Name __________________________________________________________________
Position ________________________________________________________________
Affiliation _______________________________________________________________

Address ________________________________________________________________
Phone number ___________________________________________________________
Fax Number _____________________________________________________________
Email Address ___________________________________________________________
Any signing, braille or other communicative needs?
______________________________
Please tick if you wish to participate in:
* Symposium Reception and Book Launch,
Thursday 23 August, 18.30, QUB Visitors' Centre ______
* Symposium Dinner,
Friday 24 August, 19.30 for 20.00, QUB Great Hall ______
For which I undertake to pay £25.00 during the Symposium.
* Symposium Excursion to the Giant's Causeway on Saturday 25 August,
_____
Please return to John Kirk as soon as possible: j.m.kirk at qub.ac.uk
School of English, Queen's University Belfast, BT7 1NN
Fax +44 (0)28 9031 4615