22nd–23rd January 2026
Register! | Your Language Counts! – Conference
University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
The event brings together professionals from the fields of education, culture, and language policy to explore the significance of linguistic diversity in classrooms in Europe and the value of heritage languages in today’s societies.
A central focus of the conference will be the presentation of key outcomes from the “Your language counts!” project. These include insights from the pilot project, the project roadmap, and the official release of the Handbook on Implementing Heritage Language Education in the School Sector in Europe.
The conference will feature keynote speeches, expert panels, and interactive workshops, providing a dynamic platform for dialogue, knowledge exchange, and professional networking.
We look forward to welcoming you to this important event.
15:15 – 16:30 | Project Results (Handbook, Roadmap, Evaluation, Platform) - Karijn Helsloot, Tobias Schrödler, Simeon Oxley, Sabine Brachmann-Bosse
17:00 – 18:00 | Panel Discussion "Future perspectives of HLE in EU"
Moderation: Elisabeth C. Schmidt, Goethe-Institut Stockholm, Sweden
Participants: Jeff MacSwan, University of Maryland, USA; Ahmad Alhamad, ISK Piter Jelles, Netherlands; Camilla Hollmén, Deputy Manager at the Unit for Multilingualism (EFF) in Uppsala Municipality, Sweden; Larissa Aksinovits, OAO, Finland 18:00 – 18:30 | Poster Presentation
18:00 | Reception and Conference Dinner
09:00 – 09:45 | Keynote Speech (Anne Reath Warren, Senior Lecturer/Associate Professorat at Department of Education, Uppsala)
10:00 – 11:00 | Parallel Workshops – Session 1
11:15 – 12:15 | Parallel Workshops – Session 2 12:30 – 13:00 | Closing Remark & Outlook
A central focus of the conference will be the presentation of key outcomes from the “Your language counts!” project. These include insights from the pilot project, the project roadmap, and the official release of the Handbook on Implementing Heritage Language Education in the School Sector in Europe.
The conference will feature keynote speeches, expert panels, and interactive workshops, providing a dynamic platform for dialogue, knowledge exchange, and professional networking.
We look forward to welcoming you to this important event.
Preliminary Programme
Thursday, January 22nd, 2026
15:00 | Welcome and Opening Remarks15:15 – 16:30 | Project Results (Handbook, Roadmap, Evaluation, Platform) - Karijn Helsloot, Tobias Schrödler, Simeon Oxley, Sabine Brachmann-Bosse
17:00 – 18:00 | Panel Discussion "Future perspectives of HLE in EU"
Moderation: Elisabeth C. Schmidt, Goethe-Institut Stockholm, Sweden
Participants: Jeff MacSwan, University of Maryland, USA; Ahmad Alhamad, ISK Piter Jelles, Netherlands; Camilla Hollmén, Deputy Manager at the Unit for Multilingualism (EFF) in Uppsala Municipality, Sweden; Larissa Aksinovits, OAO, Finland 18:00 – 18:30 | Poster Presentation
18:00 | Reception and Conference Dinner
Friday, January 23rd, 2026
09:00 – 09:45 | Keynote Speech (Anne Reath Warren, Senior Lecturer/Associate Professorat at Department of Education, Uppsala)
10:00 – 11:00 | Parallel Workshops – Session 1
11:15 – 12:15 | Parallel Workshops – Session 2 12:30 – 13:00 | Closing Remark & Outlook