News:

The European Award for Languages is a European-wide initiative supported by the European Commission and, in the UK, by the DfES. The aim of the award is to promote best practice in innovative and effective language learning initiatives.

CILT, assisted by an advisory panel, is responsible for organising the Awards in the UK. Each year, the panel selects 12-15 projects to receive an Award.

This year, the Nuffield Languages Programme offered a special prize of £1,000 for the project, selected from among the Award winners, which made the greatest contribution to translating the Nuffield Inquiry's recommendations into practice.

The winners of the Nuffield prize were Norfolk Adult Education Service, who challenged the vicious circle that can be created when businesses, in particular smaller companies, don't export because they don't have language skills … and they don't invest in language skills because they're not exporting. They set up E-urocom, which provides an innovative combination of ICT and language skills to a range of local and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Norfolk. The package includes the design of foreign language websites for individual or clusters of businesses, enabling them to reach and compete in new European markets. Satisfied customers include a small specialist brewery which sells to France, a group of Bed & Breakfast owners advertising in Germany, and a company specialising in automotive design which deals with German manufacturers.

They were presented with their award by Sir Trevor McDonald at a ceremony held at the German Embassy on the 26th September.