COLOMBIA and BRAZIL, April 8-17, 2019 – From April 8 to 17, Languages Canada and several member programs conducted a three-stop trip to Latin America, including Bogota, Colombia, Paraná State, Brazil and Belém, Brazil.
On April 8, Languages Canada, English School of Canada and the Colombian Association of Universities (ASCUN) conducted a half-day workshop on internationalization and higher education, hosted at the Escuela Colombiana de Ingeniería Julio Garavito. In addition to LC and ESC, the Canadian delegation included the University of Toronto English Language Program, Dalhousie University’s ESL program and the local Canadian Trade Commissioner for education. The workshop was attended by 13 ASCUN member universities, as well as representatives of Colfuturo and ICETEX.
In follow-up to the workshop, LC, ESC and ASCUN will work together to establish mechanisms to support increased two-way mobility, short-term research collaboration and capacity-building for English and French language education in Colombia. A subsequent event with ASCUN is planned to take place in conjunction with the Conference of the Americas for International Education (CAIE), being held in Bogota, October 23-25,2019. LC members interested in joining the Languages Canada delegation to CAIE are asked to contact Rachel Lindsey at rlindsey@languagescanada.ca. Funding via the CanExport-Associations program is available to offset the cost of members’ participation in CAIE, on a first-come, first-served basis.
On April 10 and 11, LC and Smrt English visited the state of Paraná in Brazil to meet with newly instated government representatives and discuss next steps on Canada’s engagement in the 3rd phase of the Paraná Speaks English and 2nd phase of the Paraná Parle Français programs. This included meetings in Curitiba at the Secretariat of Higher Education, Secretariat of Basic Education and Araucária Foundation (the state research granting council). LC and Smrt also visited the State University of Ponta Grossa – one of the seven universities in the Paraná state university network – and had the opportunity to deliver a presentation to 200+ students and conduct meetings with faculty members and the university’s rector.
From April 13 to the 17, Languages Canada was joined by several member programs for the 2019 Brazilian Association of International Education (FAUBAI) annual conference, held in Belém, Brazil.
Languages Canada, in partnership with CALDO and the Consulate General of Canada in São Paulo, coordinated a full-day FAUBAI pre-conference workshop on “Canada-Brazil cooperation for internationalization”. The event included presentations from Canadian government (Global Affairs Canada and the Canada Research Coordinating Committee), non-government bodies (CALDO, Language Canada, Mitacs) and academic institutions (University of Toronto, Smrt English, The Real Institute at Ryerson University, University of Alberta and McMaster University) on mechanisms to support mobility, research collaboration and academic cooperation between Canadian and Brazilian higher education institutions. This included a session on language education as a foundation of internationalization.
The FAUBAI conference included several sessions about teaching/learning foreign languages and use of English as a Medium of Instruction in Brazil, pointing to the increasing demand for Canadian English and French language education expertise to grow Brazil’s capacity to deliver foreign language education within its university system.
The FAUBAI conference included a Canada reception hosted by Canadian Ambassador Rick Savone and Consul General of Canada in São Paulo Stéphane Larue, attended by key Brazilian partners.
The participation of Languages Canada and several members in the FAUBAI conference was supported by the CanExport-Associations (formerly Global Opportunities for Associations) program.
For further information on Languages Canada’s past or upcoming activities in Colombia and/or Brazil, please contact Rachel Lindsey, Director, International Affairs and Operations at rlindsey@languagescanada.ca.
