Practising French, English, German and Spanish over Drinks

Every Thursday and Friday, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. (until 15 July), at the Casa di Quartiere Villa Paradiso (Via Emilia Levante, 138 - Bologna), people passionate about foreign languages and cultures can meet to chat in a foreign language over a coffee or a drink. This is the Caffé delle Lingue e delle Culture (Languages and Cultures Café) initiative organised by the Centre for Linguistic and Cultural Studies (CeSLiC) of the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures (LILEC) at the University of Bologna. The initiative was proposed by Valeria Zotti, professor of French Linguistics, as part of the 2023 Participatory Budgeting promoted by the Municipality of Bologna, together with the Fondazione per l’Innovazione Urbana - FIU.

Thursday is dedicated to Spanish, while Friday is for English, French and German, with the goal of opening to other languages as well, including Portuguese and Japanese. Among participants, there are native speakers or people who have lived in a foreign country for several years, as well as people who simply wish to practise a language learnt many years ago.

Caffé delle Lingue fosters moments of peer-to-peer meetings and dialogue. Around the tables, divided by language, everyone is on the same level, with no one assuming a position of superiority. This is how, meeting after meeting, a network of cross-generational relationships is created. So, the city becomes a multilingual and multicultural community, capable of promoting integration and creating connections between cultures, ideas, and lifestyles.