Saturday 14 February will mark the highlight of the First Brussels Multilingualism Week. The Palais de la Bourse will host a wide range of activities that will illustrate and discuss Brussels’ multilingualism.

From 10.00 to 17.30, stands and activities will be proposed in the Agora area on the ground floor of the Palais de la Bourse. For example, the European Parliament will allow visitors to experience a real interpreting booth and written translation as currently practiced.

Starting at 11.30 a.m., a series of four debates will provide an opportunity to reflect together on four tricky questions:

11.30-12.30: Is artificial intelligence fatal to multilingualism?
13.30-14.30: What place should schools give to mother tongues other than the language of instruction?
15.00-16.00: Should Brussels’ public services become more multilingual?
16.30-17.30: Can enough teachers be found to teach Dutch to Brussels children?

These debates will be followed by a choir performance and a reception. Advance registration is required for each debate and for the reception: https://multilingualism.brussels/fr/register/

Throughout the week, numerous activities will also take place in the whole region and at the Palais de la Bourse, some open to the public, others not. For example, the Palais de la Bourse will welcome and showcase every evening one of our major immigrant languages. All these activities are listed on our website.

Closing Day of the Brussels Multilingualism Week