The INGO-Professional Network Forum, comprising 13 leading associations and institutions in language education and assessment, met at the ECML on 2 February to discuss ‘burning issues’ in international language education as identified by the membership of the Forum partners.
In the current challenging financial climate the influence of globalization and migration on education, the economic value of language skills and the impact of ICT on education were in particular highlighted as priority areas where the sharing of expertise and working on a common front could benefit the wider language education community.
The meeting also looked at future joint actions, enhancing the information flow among the members and making use of the dissemination and lobbying opportunities created through the Forum, with a potential worldwide outreach to millions in the language education profession.
The Professional Network Forum was established in 2010 as a platform for exchange for international associations and institutions working at grass-roots level to share their know-how and discuss professional development issues in the service of language education. The Graz Declaration, drafted as a result of the founding meeting, provides a the basis for the common activities and actions undertaken by the membership.
The following institutions and associations make up the INGO-Professional Network forum:
The International Association of Applied Linguistics (AILA), the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE), the European Confederation of Language Centres in Higher Education (CercleS), the Conseil européen pour les langues / European Language Council (CEL/ELC), the European Association for Quality Language Services (EAQUALS), the European Association for Language Testing and Assessment (EALTA), the European Parents Association (EPA), the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC), the World Federation of Modern Language Associations (FIPLV), the International Association of Multilingualism (IAM), the International Certificate Conference (ICC), and the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute (OLBI) of the University of Ottawa, Canada. The network is coordinated by the European Centre for Modern Languages.