Conference on Cultural and Linguistic Diversity –
World Language Centre in Iceland 
 
2-3 November 2007

The Vigdķs Finnbogadóttir Institute of Foreign Languages
University of Iceland, Reykjavķk
 
This is an invitation to participate in a conference on a proposed World Language Centre in Iceland (see further information below)* and a first Call for Papers on comparative research in Linguistic, Literary and Cultural Studies. The conference will be held in Reykjavķk, Iceland, Friday 2nd to Saturday 3rd November 2007 and will be organised by the Vigdķs Finnbogadóttir Institute of Foreign Languages at the University of Iceland (www.vigdis.hi.is).
 
The conference will have four consecutive sessions:
1. Future Visions of the World Language Centre: keynote speakers and a panel discussion.
2. International Co-operation: keynote speakers and a panel discussion involving similar language institutes from around the world.
3. Experience Centre: keynote speakers discussing computer technology and virtual reality in experiencing language.
4. Comparative research in Linguistic, Literary and Cultural Studies.

 
Section 3 and 4 will be an open forum for a limited number of papers (20 mins. duration) for which we welcome proposals.
 
Among the keynote speakers will be
 
° Ms. Vigdķs Finnbogadóttir, former president of Iceland and UNESCO’s Goodwill Ambassador for the Languages;
° Professor Peter K. Austin, Marit Rausing Chair in Field Linguistics, SOAS http://www.hrelp.org/aboutus/staff/index.php?cd=pa;
° Professor Bernard Spolsky, Bar-Ilan University http://www.biu.ac.il/faculty/spolsb/.

 
Further information on the conference and registration can be obtained at: infovigdis@hi.is and proposals (abstracts: 250-500 words) should be sent to the same
e-mail address by 20th August. The proposals will be reviewed and selected by September 10th.
 
Potential topics for the third and fourth session might include:
° Language planning and language ecology
° Language conflicts and linguistic ideology, attitudes, standardization and variation
° Language as a foundation for democracy
° Language as a foundation for cultural values and heritage
° Foreign language instruction and acquisition
° Research on Nordic languages as second and foreign languages
° Inter-regional language comprehension (e.g. within the Nordic countries) and its value for cooperation and identity
° Utilisation of computer technology in experiencing language and culture
° Inter-cultural communication
° Multicultural/multilingual influences on national and minority literatures
° Comparative Research in Literature
° Literature and culture
° Translation studies
° Cross-linguistic and cross-cultural perspectives
° Comparative lexical studies

 
* The World Language Centre is an ambitious project, led by the Vigdķs Finnbogadóttir Institute of Foreign Languages, which aims at creating an international forum for academic research and dialogue on the world’s languages. The WLC will be located in the heart of Reykjavķk, at the centre of the University of Iceland campus. Its facilities will consist of an extensive database through which language research and teaching can take place, an international conference hall to enable scholars and international societies from all around the world to hold meetings and conferences, and a virtual reality space, dedicated to scholarly and artistic representations of language research, which will be open to the public. Special emphasis will be placed on enabling the general public to experience and gain insights into the enormous diversity of cultures and languages in the world. Further information on the World Language Centre can be obtained via the following link: http://www.vigdis.hi.is/id/1011040.
 
The Vigdķs Finnbogadóttir Institute of Foreign Languages is a research institute within the University of Iceland. It is comprised of faculty members who teach modern languages and cultures, the classical languages, and translation studies. The Institute has the honour of bearing the name of Ms. Vigdķs Finnbogadóttir, the former president of Iceland (1980-1996). She was the first woman in the world to be democratically elected as a head of state and now serves as UNESCO’s first, and so far only, Goodwill Ambassador for Languages.
 
All the best,
Dr. Gauti Kristmannsson, dósent/associate professor
Žżšingasetri H.Ķ./
University of Iceland
Translation Centre
Nżja Garši
IS-101 Reykjavķk
Iceland
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