Brussels: Conference on Business, Languages and Intercultural Skills

[Harold Schiffman]

Conference on Business, Languages and Intercultural Skills
Brussels, 21 September 2007


LANGUAGES MEAN BUSINESS

Language skills are crucial for growth and jobs. Each year, thousands
of European companies lose business and miss out on contracts as a
result of their lack of language skills and intercultural competence.
The challenge for internationally active firms is to integrate
different organisational cultures and communicate efficiently in order
to maximise performance.

How can companies acquire a more strategic approach to multilingual
communication? Are national education and training systems able to
provide dynamic enterprises with enough people with the right skills?
Is the European labour market flexible enough for entry into new
markets?



Mr Leonard Orban, member of the European Commission responsible for
multilingualism, is hosting an international conference in Brussels to
discuss the issues of languages as a competitive strength for Europe.

 Case studies from both large and small companies will be presented.
Three parallel workshops will be organised on:

Languages and regional development
Language skills in companies – supply and demand
Promoting language learning in companies


The speakers in the plenary sessions and workshops will represent
businesses, teaching and training providers, education authorities and
regional developers. Participants will include, among others, chambers
of commerce, cultural institutes, language schools, developers of
language teaching software, management consultants and trade
organisations.

The conference is free of charge but participants will have to pay
their own travel costs and accommodation in Brussels. Although
registration is open, the number of participants is limited. The
Commission reserves the right to screen applications with the
objective of ensuring participation from a wide range of countries and
target audiences. If you would like to join the conference, please
register as soon as possible, so that we can confirm your
participation early enough for you to find accommodation without
problems.

We look forward to meeting you in Brussels!

Links to:

Registration site
Programme
Printed programme and speakers' abstracts
Structure and themes
Effects on the European Economy of Shortages of Foreign Language
Skills in Enterprise

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/businesslangues/index_en.html

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