Clades |Critical Language Awareness, Democratic Engagement and Sustainability

The main objectives of CLADES are:

1. To develop understanding of language's societal impact, targeting different educational contexts.

2. To enhance analytical skills for critical language evaluation as a means to increase media and visual literacy and critical, (3) to promote the use of one's own voice and ethical communication to foster positive societal change.

A lack of civic engagement and trust in political institutions, along with difficulties in evaluating information and the rise of populist and extremist discourses, pose major challenges to the health of a democracy. Here, educating future generations plays a crucial role and is a strategic priority in many education systems in Europe.

While citizenship education currently focuses a lot on teaching skills, not enough attention is paid to the role of communication in the democratic process and building a sustainable society. This is essential because important social issues and our knowledge about them are shaped by language and visual communication.

Unfortunately, future professionals are often unaware of the power of language as a social practice. Therefore, there is a need for greater awareness of the role of language as a force shaping social reality. This project's main goal is to increase participants' critical language awareness so that their voices become stronger and they become aware of their capacity for transformation.

CLADES will do so by:

1. Increasing awareness of CLA and integrate into educational frameworks addressing democratic citizenship skills.

   CLADES will develop and widely disseminate educational resources and ready-to-use materials: a university course and two online courses, "CLA for Educators" and "Econarrative and Ethical Leadership". These courses will provide educators and students with the tools to understand and apply the principles of CLA in various subjects, such as teacher training, sciences, and business.

   Project partners will organise two staff training events focusing on CLA application in teaching practices. These sessions aim to test educational materials, solicit feedback and equip educators with innovative pedagogical strategies.

2. Empower students to translate knowledge into action and encourage the use of ‘own voice’ responsibly

   Project partners will organise three congresses involving students, colleagues and wider community, designed to include sessions for story elicitation/focus group sessions as avenues for input. Guided by the principles of appreciative enquiry, students will receive feedback based on the analyses of their input.

   CLADES will create opportunities for students to express their voices and share their stories.

3. Enable educators to include CLA activities in their teaching.

The project’s consortium is composed of 5 partner organisations:

• Comenius University (Slovakia)

• University of Ghent (Belgium)

• University of Gloucestershire (UK),

• SOLIDAR Foundation (Belgium)

• University of Groningen (Netherlands)

Speaking for Change. Speaking about Change. Language as a tool for social and environmental transformation. 24-25 February 2025. House of Connections. Groningen (NL)

Language is a powerful tool that shapes how we perceive and respond to global challenges. It constructs and reflects societal norms, frames pressing issues like environmental transformation, gender equality,  or extremism. Language can reinforce harmful ideologies but also inspire positive change.The first flagship event of the Erasmus+ Project: Critical Language Awareness, Democratic Engagement, and Sustainability (CLADES) congress will explore both: through discussions, hands-on workshops, and collaborative learning, participants will engage with the role of language in fostering transformative change and sustainable futures.

Join us if you are passionate about sustainability (broadly understood), interested in how communication shapes societal change, or eager to develop skills in using language responsibly to promote positive transformation. Whether you are a student ready to make a difference or a professional seeking to broaden your horizons about factors that affect the success of sustainable development, this conference offers an excellent opportunity to collaborate, learn, and contribute to building a sustainable future.

Planned programme:

• Keynotes by Randy Morin and Dorothy Thunder (Plains Cree/ nêhiyawêwin language keepers and lecturers at the University of Saskatchewan and University of Alberta, Canada); Wakanyi Hoffman (author, African Indigenous Knowledge scholar, and global speaker of Ubuntu philosophy);

• Serious game sessions, including Legos and board games on microplastics and multilingualism; 

• Academic presentations;

• Networking and debate (open seat fishbowl, closing round table).

CALL FOR PAPER:
We invite colleagues to submit proposals for presenting their research and ongoing projects in our congress Speaking for Change. Speaking about Change, which will take place 24-25 February 2025. Presentations will be concentrated in the morning of the 25 February.

The congress seeks to explore the transformative power of language in shaping sustainable and equitable futures, in both societal and environmental perspectives. We welcome papers that engage with a variety of approaches to language, including, but not limited to:

• Ecolinguistics: How language influences our relationship with the environment and contributes to discourses on sustainability and ecological transformation.

• Critical Approaches: Examining how language can perpetuate or challenge ideologies related to gender, extremism, and exclusion, and how critical language awareness can foster inclusivity and social justice.

• Corporate and Business Contexts: Exploring language in corporate communication, including how discourse influences organizational change, corporate responsibility, and public perception of sustainability efforts.

• Minoritized and endangered languages: Exploring perspectives of Indigenous and endangered languages on social relations and the environment; revitalization/ reclamation of endangered and minoritized languages for the survival, health and wellbeing of Indigenous communities; inclusion of minoritized languages at the policy level to foster participation and social cohesion.

We are particularly interested in submissions that highlight empirical research, as well as work-in-progress projects or conversation starters that stimulate debate on the role of language in fostering change. Presentations should not only share findings but also invite participants to critically reflect on the implications of language for sustainability, equity, and democratic engagement.

We expect a mixed audience, including students and staff from diverse disciplines from social sciences to medicine school and stem, and including also stakeholders from outside the academic world. We therefore encourage participants to think in terms of innovative approaches and formats for their presentations, to be able to engage non-experts and youth with their contributions. 

Submission Guidelines:

• Abstracts should be a maximum of 300 words, outlining the research question, methods, and focusing on key insights and (potential) impact.

• Include a brief bio of the presenter(s).

• Deadline for submissions: 15 December 2024

• Please submit your abstract to EUclades rug.nl.