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The 8th German Language Festival in Kampala, Uganda

Language teaching and educational exchange - the most powerful tools of cultural diplomacy

July 15th, 2016
Georgi Zografov, News from Berlin
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Language courses play an important role in cultural diplomacy as they promote various cultures and create cultural bridges between people from different nations. Language courses are a strategic tool for expanding diplomatic relations.

On July 10th, 2016 the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Uganda in cooperation with the Goethe-Zentrum Kampala/ Ugandan German Cultural Society and the Association of Teachers of German in Uganda (ATGU) organized the 8th German Language Festival. This year’s theme was “Learn German, put your culture across”.

The event was held at Mengo Senior School in Kampala, Uganda. The participants were students from 13 schools from Uganda. The language festival aims to bring together the schools in Uganda that teach German and to promote culture diplomacy through the power of the foreign language. During the event the students showed their creativity, artistic skills and abilities.

The language festival gives the students the opportunity to present the rich culture of Uganda in a foreign language. Learning a foreign language develops the imagination cognitive skills of students, which is essential for their future.

Students in Uganda who learn German know that any foreign language added to their skill set can open more doors for them in the future. Many students dream to study abroad in Germany. The development of students’ communication skills enables their willingness to discover and build new cultural relations.

The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Uganda encourages young people to learn German. If students speak German, they can participate in the German Bachelor's program at Makerere University in Kampala and the Master’s program at the University of Nairobi in Kenya.

Spreading cultural diplomacy in the form of studying a foreign language amongst young people is important as it creates and results in the building of a modern world.

Spreading cultural diplomacy amongst young people through the study of foreign languages provides a foundation for the building of a modern world without language barriers.

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