Language and Social Cohesion, 17 – 19 Oct 2011

The 9th International Language and Development conference on Language and Social Cohesion will be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 17 – 19 October 2011. It is organised and hosted by German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), the British Council’s Project English, the Ministry of National Languages and Social Integration and the Ministry of Education. Please go to the conference website www.languageandsocialcohesion.org for full information about the conference.

The conference will provide a forum for discussing learning and innovation in the area of language and social cohesion and will build towards a collective outcome in a participatory way. As well as key note addresses, there will be parallel sessions, workshops, cross-cultural performance events, panel discussions and a publication of selected conference papers.

During the conference, language and social cohesion will be explored through the sub themes of

• Language policy - language rights, language policy within donor organizations, English as a link language
• Language and identity – mono, bi and multilingualism, national and local languages, world languages
• Language and economic development – language for employability, management, social mobility and the global economy;
• Language and education – social integration through curricula and teaching materials; language pedagogy
• Language and the arts – language fusion and inclusion in performing and fine arts

Language and Social Cohesion conference organising committee

Psyche Kennett – Team Leader, GTZ Performance Improvement Project
Paul Hilder – Deputy Director, British Council Sri Lanka
Alison Barrett - Head of State Partnerships, British Council India
Malkanthi Wickramasinghe – Secretary, Ministry of National Languages and Social Integration, Sri Lanka
Anura Dissanayake – Additional Secretary, Ministry of Education, Sri Lanka