Open Conversation: From Recognition to Inclusion – Rethinking European Languages in Education, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany, 26 Sept 2025. Deadline: 11 September for on-site participation; 24 September for online participation.
Across Europe, educational systems tend to focus on hegemonial national languages—German in Germany, French in France, and so on—as legitimate means for classroom interaction. It is also these languages that are associated with European nation-states, understood as “modern languages” for educational curricula, and targeted as desirable competences in “European languages” by multilingualism policies.
However, the linguistic reality of Europe is far more diverse. Languages such as Turkish, Arabic, Russian, Kurdish, and Romani are spoken daily by large communities in Europe, and in this sense they are European languages, yet they are rarely treated as valuable cultural or educational resources.
This open conversation explores how educational systems might move beyond narrow definitions of “European languages” and “multilingualism” towards practices of genuine linguistic inclusion—where all students’ languages are made visible, valued, and meaningfully integrated into educational life.
Organisers: Heike Wiese, İrem Duman Çakır, Annika Labrenz
Center for Intercultural Dialogue 