#ThinkLanguages Champion Team in Brussels
#ThinkLanguages Champion Team in Brussels
#ThinkLanguages Champion Team 2024 Travel to Brussels for Prize
The winners of the #ThinkLanguages Champion Team 2024, from Beaufort College, Navan, recently travelled to the home of the EU and melting pot of languages and cultures, Brussels following their well deserved win in the final #ThinkLanguages Champion Team competition in January.
The #ThinkLanguages Champion Team award recognises the contribution of students to the promotion of the many personal, professional and social benefits of foreign language skills during #ThinkLanguages week.
The once-in-a-lifetime prize trip was funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs as part of their ‘A Career for EU Strategy’
Day one began with a guided tour of historic Brussels, from its beautiful central square, the Grand-Place, to the chocolate shops of the glass-roofed Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert. This jam-packed day closed on a particularly high note, on the “atom” of the Atomium, a Brussels icon. The students toured the landmark building, learned about its history and construction and took in a world of light and sound at CROSSING and “Echoes of Distant Lights” temporary exhibitions currently in residence.
Day two saw the students and teachers experience the Museum of Illusions, which started the day on a fun-filled note! This was followed by a visit to a Belgian waffle-making workshop in which the students tested their cooking skills.
The final day allowed the students to find out more about the EU and the possibilities it presents when it comes to careers, including the diversity of options available when you have foreign language skills. The students and teachers visited the EU Commission’s English and Irish Interpreting Unit and the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the EU. The winners were personally congratulated by the Deputy Director-General of the EU Commission’s interpreting service, Colin Scicluna, who reminded them of the importance of languages, not only for their careers, but for their greater understanding of the world and for their personal growth.
The students also heard from the unit’s staff about their careers, before getting a rare chance to sit in on a press briefing and see interpreting in action. The team also had the opportunity to visit the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the EU, where they heard from the people representing Ireland’s interests in the EU, whose languages had allowed them to have their exciting and rewarding career within the EU.
Thanks to the continued collaboration with our friends within the EU who were generous with their time and inspiring with their stories, the team returned home to Navan excited and motivated to continue exploring where their language learning journeys could take them!
To find out more about #ThinkLanguages Week and the Champion Team Competition visit here.
