European Year of Languages

Postage stamp of Luxembourg

The European Year of Languages 2001, whose official logo is reproduced on the postage stamp of Luxembourg, is organized by the European Union and the Council of Europe and aims to celebrate Europe's linguistic diversity and to promote language learning.

Ideas behind European Year

The main ideas behind launching of this European Year are the following:

Language skills broaden people's horizon.
If you understand someone's language, you can appreciate him and his culture better.
Everybody can learn to speak or understand a new language, it is never to late or to early. Language leaning is a lifelong process.
The European Year includes all languages used in Europe. Each one is an essential part of Europe's cultural heritage and of its future.