Yorktalk 2001, which took place in York city centre on 29 September, was a project developed to celebrate the European Year of Languages.
Co-ordinated by Ann Gregory from York St John, the event brought together language trainers, providers, pupils, students, businesses, the general public and tourists to celebrate and raise awareness of linguistic diversity in the city.
The programme included:
- an exhibition of advice about language-learning;
- a display of a pupils' poster competition;
- a 'languages treasure hunt', with clues displayed in different languages in the city centre;
- a series of performances on an outdoor stage, which involved 6th form rock bands performing songs in German written especially for the day, young Nepalese dancers, African drumming, choirs singing in 12 different languages and school children demonstrating games, role plays and songs;
- a 'languages parade' through the city centre, representing a range of languages, including European and world languages which are to be found in York.
The most visible event was a mass balloon release. 1000 supporters, including the Lord Mayor, Eric Hawkins, pupils, students and adults, wrote balloon tags in over 50 different languages. The sea of bright blue and yellow balloons were paraded through the main pedestrian centre of York by pupils and performers, before being released into the sky.
