The Polish School in Reykjavik “im.Janusza Korczaka” is part of the project “Polish Pie – Pedagogical Innovation in Education”. The project is financed by the European Union and involves partners from Poland, Spain, Italy, Turkey and Iceland. The purpose and aim of the project is to strengthen teaching competency and develop professional skills that enable teachers to successfully teach Polish children living abroad.
Mariola Bondarow and Kasia Dreksa are the teachers that took part in the project. Big part of the project is to visit partner countries and take part in training sessions as well as conduct lessons which give an overview over Icelandic nature. Furthermore, these visits give the opportunity to see how the Polish community schools function in partner countries. For more information visit the project on Facebook.
The One Dish, One Wish event in the social center at Gerðuberg, Reykjavík, connected the 17 Sustainable Development Goals with the languages and cultures of the groups and school of Móðurmál. The event celebrated International Mother Language Day (21 February), as well as the collaboration of Móðurmál – the Association on Bilingualism, the cultural center Gerðuberg, compulsory schools Fellaskóli and Hólabrekkuskóli, and the City of Reykjavík, and their efforts to teach, use and promote all languages of our students.
After a warm welcome from the organizers of the event, Bibiam M Gonzalez Rodriguez, the advocate of the Global Schools Program in Iceland, presented the initiative of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. The mission of this program is to create a world where every primary and secondary school student is equipped with the knowledge, values, and skills necessary for effectively responding to the greatest challenges of this century and shaping a sustainable and prosperous world. Móðurmál works specifically towards goal number 4, Education for all, on target 4.7 which focuses on education for sustainable development, human rights, gender equality, promotion of the culture of peace, global citizenship education, and appreciation of cultural diversity
The president of Móðurmál presented representatives of the schools Fellaskóli and Hólabrekkuskóli with posters that show their collaboration and highlight the importance of collaborative efforts to appreciate, recognize, and promote all children´s languages.
This was followed by music performances of Russian, Thai, Lithuanian, and Arabic groups. After that, children from Spanish, Russian, Thai, Lithuanian, and Arabic groups presented their posters in which they showed the connection between selected recipes from their countries, responsible consumption, and awareness of the importance of protecting the environment. For example, how far do foods need to travel so that we can make our favorite meal? Children presented their work in their languages and the Lithuanian poster was awarded a special prize. After this, everyone was invited to taste the foods that the children presented in their posters.
Móðurmál is proud to represent and support mother tongue groups and schools in Iceland whose work is entirely based on the volunteer work of parents and teachers. Their work is invaluable for children, families, and society at large.
Móðurmál – the Association on Bilingualism cordially invites you to celebrate International Mother Language Day this Saturday, 18 February. This year, we connect food, culture, music, and the 17 sustainable development goals. We look forward to sharing with you!
In the poster, there is a list of languages spoken in Icelandic preschools and schools, collected on the occasion of the International Mother Language Day 2021 (the longest list), the list of languages available in the Móðurmál library (87), and finally, languages taught in Móðurmál – the Association on Bilingualism in fall 2022 (17).
Móðurmál – the Association on Bilingualism has worked on several projects linked to the Sustainable Development Goals since 2017. The Global Schools Program focuses on pursuing SDG 4.7 that aims at ensuring that all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including among others through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship, and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.
Our Global School Advocate, Bibiam M Gonzalez Rodrigez, from the Spanish Móðurmál group, introduced the project to Móðurmál. The board and Móðurmál member groups and schools will participate in the Global Schools Program through a common project “One Dish – One Wish” in fall 2022.
Móðurmál signed the pledge and promised to follow these steps:
Today´s event for the support of Ukrainian families in Iceland was a common effort of many good-hearted people. We listened to the children of Móðurmál play and sing and we sold cookies, cakes, and hand-made crafts. Children were drawing and creating arts and we jointly wrote beautiful words into a language rainbow – in Icelandic, English, Ukrainian, Russian, Czech, Korean, Arabic, Spanish and French. It was a successful event, organized by Intercultural Youth Center and Móðurmál. Thank you so much, everyone, for joining us today! Your Móðurmál
Móðurmál – the Association on Bilingualism celebrated International Mother Language Day today, 21 February 2022, through collaborations, projects, social media, and an interview on the Icelandic National Radio.
Móðurmál also invited the interested public on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to post photos of languages and multilingual signs in their environment with hashtags #modurmalsamtok #motherlanguageday #ourlanguagegarden. The inspiration for this language awareness initiative came from Mother Tongues in Dublin, Ireland.
Mother tongue groups celebrated with children and families, for example, the Lithuanian school Three Colours (Trys Spalvos) organized a successful reading competition, the Ukrainian group prepared a book exhibition and a concert, and the Russian group offered a guided tour in Reykjavík Art Gallery. The library of Móðurmál organized an online book exchange market between 12 and 22 February. Móðurmál library gave away around 250 good books, extra copies or books not suitable for the library and found them a new home. Interested readers only had to comment or send a message within the Facebook post.
The Icelandic National Radio invited Móðurmál for a short interview for the series “Mannlegi þátturinn” (Eng. The Human Element) about the importance of mother tongues. The recording is available in the archive here (minutes 29:00-37:37).
If you are looking for resources in children’ mother tongues, visit Móðurmál library that currently houses over 8000 books in 86 languages, or find online resources in the Heritage Language Hub, with access to books in over 700 languages and tools for creating books in learners’ home languages. Or visit EU-Speak for bilingual books in adult learners’ home/heritage languages.
