September 2017 NUI Galway Host Symposium on Culture, Migration and Language in Ireland

NUI Galway will bring International Scholars, Artists and Non-Profit Organisations (NGOs) to discuss the culture of migration in contemporary Ireland at the upcoming symposium ‘My Story, My Words – Language and Migration’ on Friday, 29 September.

The one-day symposium is part of the collaboration between the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at NUI Galway and the Immigrant Council of Ireland, on a research project concerning the language experience of migrants in Ireland.

In the 2016 Irish census, more than 600,000 people reported speaking a language other than English or Irish at home; this research looks at language as a key to intercultural communication in an increasingly multicultural country. The project is financed by the Irish Research Council under the New Foundations Scheme.

During the event, scholars from across Europe will bring a European perspective on language learning and language policy in multicultural societies. The staff of the Immigrant Council of Ireland will talk about their work promoting diversity in Ireland, while Irish-based artists from all over the world will perform and talk about the challenges and possibilities of making Ireland a home for their art. This includes theatre companies OT Platform - Polish Theatre Ireland, visual artist Marta Golubowska, poets Christodoulos Makris, Nita Mishra, Nithy Kasa, Ozgecan Kesici and Fiona Bolger, and film director Jijo Sebastian. Their talks and performances will show a glimpse of the innovative contribution that artists from different backgrounds are making to Irish culture and society.

The day concludes with the annual Máirtín Ó Briain Lecture given by Professor Patrick Stevenson of the University of Southampton. The annual lecture is organised to commemorate the Irish scholar Máirtín Ó Briain. This year Professor Stevenson will speak about ‘Language and Migration in a Multilingual Metropolis.’

The event is open to the public and a full schedule for the day is available on the project website at https://mystorynuig.wordpress.com/symposium-2/

For further information contact: Andrea Ciribuco at andrea.ciribuco@nuigalway.ie or Anne O’Connor at anne.oconnor@nuigalway.ie   

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