Business German in Ireland Working Group (BUGI)  - 2018 Annual Colloquium Teaching innovations and preparing for & integrating skills from study/work abroad placements
March 2, 2018
Residence of the German Ambassador, Danesfield, Seaview Terrace

Digital Tools for MFL: Moving Forward
March, 10
​Maynooth university 

Hands-on workshops by teachers for teachers of Modern Languages in the context of the Digital Learning Framework. Keynote address by Joe Dale.

Dublin Community of Practice
March 21, 7pm to 9pm
Blackrock Education Centre, Co Dublin

Cork Community of Practice
March 22, 7pm to 9pm
​Cork Education Support Centre The rectory  Western Road  Cork

Focus on Language:  Challenging Language Learning and Language Teaching in Peace and Global Education: From Principles to Practices 
Freiburg, Germany March 22-24, 2018

Changes which have been taking place in political, technological, social and economic realities since the early 21st century have led to more relationships between people of different nations. The educational changes which result from different policy decisions situated in diverse settings have also had an impact on Language Learning and Language Teaching therefore there is a need to focus on Languages and provide an academic platform for exchanging ideas, projects and scientific research results between aspiring academics, teachers, and well-known researchers. In harmony with this spirit of academic enthusiasm, we would like to invite academics, scholars, representatives of central and local educational authorities, non-governmental organizations, school teachers and practitioners representing an exciting diversity of countries, cultures, and religion to meet and exchange ideas and views in a forum encouraging respectful dialogue. Focus on Language Conference (FOL2018) will be a great opportunity to meet experts in varied areas Language Learning and Language Teaching.

Competition: Creative Writing Competition - Open to citizens and residents in ROI 
​Deadline: March 2nd, 5pm 

This creative writing competition is open to everyone. It asks you to consider the pictures of the two stone chairs above. The chairs make up the 'Hafez-Goethe Monument' in Weimar, Germany. This commemorate the work of the German poet Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1749-1832), whose collection of poems the West-Eastern Divan (1819) not only imagined a dialogue between the Christian European and Islamic worlds, but also sought to break down of rigid cultural divisions between them. The chairs, though, were left empty by the sculptors in 2001. They do not only represent Goethe and his Muslim counterpart, but allow anyone to occupy them, or even to ‘swap’ chairs and see the world from the ‘other’ perspective.
Artists and commentators alike continue to be drawn to the monument and respond to it with their own creative works. The two chairs are separate, solid structures, implying two distinct individuals, cultures, or perspectives - and yet they are both cut from the same piece of stone. The key idea seems to be that we can be connected to people of other cultures, mixing and intertwining with them, without losing our own identity.
In entering, you don’t have to write literally about Goethe and the monument. Try, instead, to run with the key idea. What do the chairs say to you? What personal experiences of encountering or crossing different cultures can you draw upon to inspire you?
Some basic points to note are:
  • You can write in English or in German;
  • Your piece can be a poem, short story or piece of prose no more than 1000 words in length;
  • The entry categories will be under 18s and over 18s, with a piece in English and in German picked from each (four winners in total); prizes will be £250 each.
  • The competition launches on Monday 25 September 2017. The final date for entries is 2 March 2018, 5pm.
  • Entires should be sent electronically (see particulars) to Dr Carly Hegenbarth: [email protected]

Österreich-Tage in Cork
March, 9-10, 2-18

​Veranstaltet in Zusammenarbeit zwischen dem Bundesministerium für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Forschung/Programm “Kultur und Sprache”, der Deutschabteilung am University College Cork sowie dem dortigen OeAD-Lektorat und der Österreichischen Botschaft Dublin.

Wexford / Wicklow Community of Practice
March 22, 5.30pm to 7.30pm
​Wexford Education Centre, Enniscorthy