The two-day workshop “Fostering the plurilingual wellbeing of language teachers”, held on 25-26 March 2026 at the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML) in Graz, marked an important step in the development of the Pluriwell project (2024-2026).

Teachers’ wellbeing is increasingly recognised as a key factor in shaping high-quality, inclusive education. Within the Council of Europe’s broader commitment to democratic culture and education, teachers play a central role – not only as educators of their subjects, but also as professionals navigating linguistic diversity, cultural complexity and evolving learning environments. Supporting teachers in reflecting on their own language repertoires and identities is therefore essential.

The Pluriwell project addresses this by focusing on the concept of plurilingual wellbeing. How is this concept defined? It is not only being aware of and valuing the potential of one’s own language repertoire; it is also feeling comfortable with using this repertoire in a variety of personal and professional contexts. As the project coordinator, Caterina Sugranyes, explains, “much of the focus has always been on what we can’t do – plurilingual wellbeing shifts the focus to what we can do.” This dimension of wellbeing underpins teachers’ ability to foster plurilingual, intercultural and democratic competences in the classroom. Caterina Sugranyes also highlights that plurilingual wellbeing is closely linked to democratic culture, involving “positive emotions, openness to the world and relationships” – key elements for learning and living together in diverse societies.

The Graz workshop brought together 37 participants – including the expert team, consultant and partners – from 28 Council of Europe member states. As part of the four-year programme Language Education at the Heart of Democracy, the workshop provided a space for testing and refining the Pluriwell toolkit and for reviewing other project outputs, including guiding principles and teacher testimonials. The insights gathered will now feed into the finalisation of the project results, including the future Pluriwell website, making the outputs more widely applicable across different European educational contexts.

The ECML workshop reaffirmed the importance of placing teacher wellbeing – particularly in its plurilingual dimension – at the heart of efforts to strengthen education systems, support professional practice, and promote democratic culture through language education. This was echoed in the words of the project consultant, Chantal Muller, “When our languages – and, by extension, our identities – are valued, we feel recognised and respected for who we are. This recognition enhances teachers’ sense of wellbeing and enthusiasm, which in turn positively influences their teaching practices and interactions.”

• ECML project website “Fostering the plurilingual wellbeing of language teachers” (2024-26) (available in English and French): www.ecml.at/pluriwell