Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs joined in celebrating European Day of Languages, a holiday established by the Council of Europe in 2001 to remind people of the value of linguistic diversity, the need to preserve cultural heritage, and the importance of learning languages for communication and integration processes in the modern world.

The event was opened by the First Vice-Rector of the university, Doctor of Law, Associate Professor Viktor VASYLENKO, who greeted the participants in English, emphasising that each of the more than 200 European languages is a unique gateway to another culture, history and way of thinking.

The celebration took place in a hybrid format at all locations of Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs, with the participation of representatives of most structural units and students. The moderators were Tetiana MATIUSHKOVA, Head of the International Cooperation Department, and Olena STATIVKA, Head of the Language Training Department.

Foreign partners of the university addressed the participants with welcoming remarks and brief presentations about themselves. Among them were: representative of Norway – Suzanne Bancel, Senior Advisor on Internationalisation at the Norwegian Police University College; Dominique GEER, Director and Teacher of the ArcoMusicAcademy (USA) Music Academy, a cellist from Hilton Head Island (South Carolina, USA); Michal SIRUCEK, representative of Canada, lighthouse keeper at Nootka Island lightstation, who speaks more than five languages, including Esperanto; Representative of Denmark – Steen SKOVLIND, Copenhagen Police Superintendent for 30 years, who worked in the European Union Advisory Mission in Ukraine from July 2020 to January 2022. The conversation was also joined by Olga ANIKOVICA, Chief Inspector of the International Cooperation Group at the Career Development and Professional Training Centre of the Latvian State Police College, representing Latvia; Kiril MILEV, Senior Adviser on Cybercrime at the European Union Advisory Mission in Ukraine, representing Bulgaria; Olha TYLCHYK, a representative of Spain and visiting professor at the University of Barcelona. In addition, a welcome video was sent by Mihkel MILLER (Estonia), Head of the International Cooperation Department at the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences.

The university worthily accepted the ‘language baton’ from its partners: 17 students spoke in Slovak, Polish, German, Italian, French, English, Spanish and Ukrainian; 16 representatives of the scientific and pedagogical staff presented themselves in English, Polish, German, Turkish, Danish, French and Ukrainian.

Messages were also received from Ukrainians currently living abroad – Dmytro MUZYCHUK and Alisa SHEVCHENKO. They greeted the participants in Polish, German, French, and English.

Thus, all participants had the opportunity to introduce themselves in their native and foreign languages, get acquainted, exchange experiences, and hear the sounds of many European languages.

In addition, the organisers conducted an interactive survey on the Mentis platform about the motives for learning foreign languages and the difficulties encountered along the way. Participants discussed areas for further cooperation to promote the active use of European languages at work, in education and in everyday communication. Some foreign guests expressed their desire to learn Ukrainian as one of the European languages and even addressed the participants in Ukrainian with words of support and the slogan ‘Glory to Ukraine!’.

At the end of the event, the moderators summed up the results and thanked all participants. Such events should undoubtedly become a good tradition at Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs. https://univd.edu.ua/uk/news/24952