Where can you come and meet language travel consultants from Acorn Languages in 2008?

Gap Year Fairs

Oundle School, Peterborough, Friday 20 June 2008, 5-7pm
Solihull School, West Midlands, Wednesday 17 September 2008, 7-8.30pm
Oakham School, Rutland, Sunday 23 November 2008, 5-8pm

Exhibitions

The Language Show, London Olympia, Friday 31 October - Sunday 2 November 2008

For further information on any of these events or if you would like to invite us to your school or gap year fair then please contact us

The year 2008 has been proclaimed International Year of Languages by the United Nations General Assembly. UNESCO, which has been entrusted with the task of coordinating activities for the Year, is determined to fulfil its role as lead agency.

The Organization is fully aware of the crucial importance of languages when seen against the many challenges that humanity will have to face over the next few decades.

Languages are indeed essential to the identity of groups and individuals and to their peaceful coexistence.

We must act now as a matter of urgency. How?  By encouraging and developing language policies that enable each linguistic community to use its first language, or mother tongue, as widely and as often as possible, including in education, while also mastering a national or regional language and an international language. Also by encouraging speakers of a dominant language to master another national or regional language and one or two international languages. Only if multilingualism is fully accepted can all languages find their place in our globalized world.

Whether it be through initiatives in the fields of education, cyberspace or the literate environment; be it through projects to safeguard endangered languages or to promote languages as a tool for social integration; or to explore the relationship between languages and the economy, languages and indigenous knowledge or languages and creation, it is important that the idea that “languages matter!”be promoted everywhere.

The date of 21 February 2008, that of the ninth International Mother Language Day, will have a special significance and provide a particularly appropriate deadline for the introduction of initiatives to promote languages. 

Our common goal is to ensure that the importance of linguistic diversity and multilingualism in educational, administrative and legal systems, cultural expressions and the media, cyberspace and trade, is recognized at the national, regional and international levels.

The International Year of Languages 2008 will provide a unique opportunity to make decisive progress towards achieving these goals.

Links: http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/language/

“Travel is in our blood.” That is a great thing. According to the World Economic Forum, tourism is essential to reducing poverty in the poorest countries.

We have no doubt that youth travel, and in particular responsible travel, is a valuable personal development experience that makes a contribution to international understanding and respect. However, we must now recognise that there is an environmental cost associated with this travel.

We all know that young people travel to discover new cultures and to truly experience the local communities they visit. Youth travel habits differ from mainstream travel; likewise, youth travel’s measurable impact on the environment – its carbon footprint – is indeed also unique.

Youth Travellers generally stay in local accommodation (hostels, guest houses, host families) and use public transportation during their trips. This type of travel emits less carbon than business travel, which usually involves accommodation in large hotel chains, and the use of taxis and rental cars upon arrival.

The practice of offsetting carbon emissions is now a generally accepted solution to help travellers take responsibility for their carbon footprint.

Voluntary carbon offsetting, whilst not regarded as a standalone solution to mitigating climate change, is largely accepted as playing an important role in educating the public about the cost of carbon emissions and offsetting the portion of one’s carbon footprint.

How does Acorn Languages reduce its carbon footprint?

Travel to and from work: Located on the outskirts of Nottingham, our office is well served by regular bus and train services. Halsbury travel also offers a shared car scheme from the city centre to our offices each day.

Office recycling: Recycling is one of our regular office activities. There are glass and paper recycling stations throughout the office and members of staff are encouraged to use scrap paper instead of note books.

Links

http://www.earthday.net/footprint/index.asp
http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/
http://www.ec3global.com/products-programs/green-globe/
http://www.sustainableaviation.co.uk/
http://www.thetravelfoundation.org.uk/