There was a lively atmosphere at the Cultural Meet for Hlíðaskóli 6th graders in honor of International Mother Language Day last week. The children in this grade are truly multilingual, with three sign languages among the 20 languages they speak. The event is organized by the Vigdís International Center and the University of Iceland Language Center.
Languages are often a hidden treasure
On International Mother Language Day, Feb. 21, the children engaged in various language-related projects and received guided tours of the Language in the Making exhibit at Veröld, house of Vigdís. One of the highlights was creating a language rainbow, an artwork that was hung in the Veröld staircase. The artwork displays words like "friend," "love," "peace" and "tolerance" in the 20 languages spoken by the children through the project. Languages are often a hidden treasure in society that merits greater acknowledgment.
Creative self-images and highlighting strengths
On Friday, the children's parents were invited to the Cultural Meet at Veröld to see what the children had been doing to present their personal culture in an engaging way. This is a teaching method Kristín R. Vilhjálmsdóttir, a language coordinator in Denmark and Iceland, employs with schools, cultural institutions, and language professionals. It aims to develop creative self-images and highlight students' strengths and diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
Supports United Nations Global Goals
The Cultural Meet supports Reykjavík City's Education Policy, national curriculum guidelines on multilingualism and cultural competence, and the United Nations Global Goals for fostering global awareness and recognizing diverse cultures. International Mother Language Day is one of the UNESCO observances that the Vigdís International Center has marked for many years, focusing in recent years on children in close collaboration with Móðurmál - Association for Bilingualism.
The Cultural Meet was covered in RÚV news and in Morgunblaðið last Saturday.
Image gallery
