Press release, 26 September 2016
Photo of the Office of the Seimas (author Olga Posaškova)
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a pleasure to welcome you here in the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania. It is an even greater pleasure to see the community of local and foreign teachers gather for the tenth time.
You do a responsible and important job on a daily basis. Mutual support, best practice and good insights are key elements of your work. With World Teachers’ Day drawing closer, I wish you all every success and great joy as you witness the achievements of your pupils, broaden their horizons and their outlook on the world, and encourage their creativity.
The mission of a teacher is to go deeper and be able to show the bigger picture. Thus, I believe that you go beyond language teaching. What you primarily teach is communication. You teach children and teenagers to not only speak but also communicate respectfully, attentively, and appropriately.
I am aware that this event is also attended by distinguished guests from all over the world. Many languages are spoken around the world, but I am convinced that your mother tongue is the one you hold dearest to your heart. The native language is inseparable from the identity of each human being. No matter how many languages we are able to speak, the native tongue must always have a special place in our lives.
This is also proved by the fact that the European Union provides and ensures opportunities for all EU Member States to use their native languages in the European institutions. This not only enforces the principle of equality but also shows deep respect for all EU citizens and EU languages.
As Lithuanians, we can take pride in that we speak one of the oldest languages in the world while each of us serves as an ambassador of the Lithuanian language. To be an ambassador means to properly represent something, which implies, first and foremost, good knowledge of one’s native language. We have to be aware of this responsibility and this duty. This has to be stressed by teachers of both Lithuanian and foreign languages. The world will appreciate us for our uniqueness if we ourselves take pride in it. I believe the foreign guests of our Conference would agree with that, too.
Having said that, I hope that Lithuanians are equally eager to learn as many foreign languages as they can. It is encouraging that, according to statistics, the number of multilingual people in Lithuania is increasing.
Today, Lithuania’s competitiveness and its capacity to actively attract investment depend directly on foreign language skills. I believe a long-term language teaching strategy should be mapped out in light of the geopolitical challenges and trends.
With this, I would like to conclude my sharing of insights and observations for today. I would like to take the opportunity to thank the participants of the event for their sincere work, which produces tremendous results. As I look at Khatuna Salukvadze, Ambassador of Georgia, and our dear Prof Vidas Kavaliauskas, who is working in Georgia, I recall the indescribable feeling I got when Georgian students visiting Lithuania sang our national anthem in fluent Lithuanian, despite being native Georgians themselves. That speaks for itself. Therefore, let us love all languages. Let us cherish them and make every effort to help people learn them.
I wish you a successful Conference and a productive day. I believe that your individual thoughts and ideas will contribute to our common goals.
