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Midlothian 1+2 Development Officer, Margaret Ballantyne (front row, far left),  Scottish Government Representative, Toria Fraser (front row, 7 from left) and 1+2 representatives across Scotland.

A selection of staff who are responsible for the implementation of 1+2 Languages Policy in Scotland were invited for a visit to the European Commission in Brussels on Monday, 18th September 2017. Among those invited were 1+2 Development Officers, Quality Improvement Officers, Heads of Education and representatives from the cultural institutes in Edinburgh.  Also present was Toria Fraser who is ‎the Languages Policy Manager at the Scottish Government.

There were presentations about the background and role of the European Commission as well as input  from the Translation and Interpretation Services.  They also gained an insight into how language learning and linguistic diversity is promoted in Europe and an overview of tools for European cooperation (such as Erasmus+).  Midlothian has been very successful in sending teachers on language immersion courses via Erasmus+ , particularly since the launch of 1+2 Languages Initiative in 2014.

It was interesting to see how many Scots are employed by the European Commission and using their languages in the workplace every day.  This should hopefully inspire young language learners across Scotland and contribute towards Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) in Scotland.