Co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, the NEOLAiA alliance reunites 9 European universities: Bielefeld Universität (Germany) - Universidad de Jaén (Spain) - Örebro Universitet (Sweden) - Ostravska Universita (Czech Republic) - Università degli Studi di Salerno (Italy) - Universitatea Stefan cel Mare Suceava (Romania) - University of Nicosia (Cyprius) - Siauliai Valstybiné Kolegija (Lithuania) - Université de Tours (France).

In pursuit of the European values for a linguistically and culturally equitable education, one of the goals of the European university alliance NEOLAIA is to draw up a common charter regarding the multilingual and intercultural language policies of its partner universities, as well as an accreditation certificate for multilingual and intercultural teaching. As part of this mission, carried out by the universities of Jaén and Tours, a symposium on university language policies will be held in Tours on October 16, 17 and 18 2024. The aim is to create a forum for reflection on the internationalization of universities that takes seriously the challenges of linguistic and cultural diversity in a training context, going beyond a purely technical and economic vision of language management in higher education, and in line with the main linguistic and cultural policies already implemented by the European Union and the Council of Europe. The linguistic questions explored in this symposium will thus be considered through the prism of a reflection on their role in the learning/appropriation/teaching of academic disciplines and the development of sciences, and not only for the added value they can represent on the study and job markets in a globalized context. Ultimately, the collaborative work carried out in this symposium will establish the basis for the development of a joint Charter on the linguistic and intercultural policies of the partner universities. This symposium is to be a forum to share best practices and foster continuous improvement and sustainability of the language policies for plurilingualism and intercultural education, as promoted by the Alliance.


The Symposium will take place in five phases, alternating between lectures by specialists in linguistic policy and language didactics, and round-table discussions bringing together members of partner universities and colleagues from different countries involved in research on questions of plurilingualism and interculturalism in the academic sphere.
1. Anglicization of higher education: the presence of English and the diversity of its uses
2. Plurilingual and intercultural perspectives in higher education
3. Sharing ideas and experiences for plurilingual and intercultural integration at universities
4. Sharing experiences between European university alliances
5. Collaborative drafting of a common University Language Policy Charter