Signs in the City Events

SIGNS classes in Birgu, Malta, 16 December 2010

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 00:00:00 EET

On 16^th of December 2010 the Birgu Local Council presented the “Signs in the City” game and DVDs to the Verdala Secondary School which forms part of the St. Margaret College.

The Councillor, Ms. Miriam Grech, did a presentation of the project and together with the principal of the St. Margaret College, Mr. Stephen Cachia, presented a copy of the game and DVDs to the children. The Principal of St. Margaret College takes care of the schools of the area and vicinity of Birgu and this presentation has been held as testing classes for future dissemination and to integration in the educational process SIGNS books, films and game.

SIGNS at European Day of Languages in Poland

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 00:00:00 EEST

On 25-th of September on the occasion of the International Day of Foreign Languages (26.Sept.) English Unlimited organized together with Pearson publisher a big methodology conference for teachers of primary and secondary school education. The Conference was attended by over 150 teachers and some of their pupils who were the winners of a competition organized by English Unlimited and Pearson.

The Conference was organized at the University of Gdansk at the Humanistic Department. A stand for the project was built in the foyer of the Conference where the stands of other organizers were located. (English Unlimited, Cambridge ESOL Exams, Pearson and Beyond Signs in the City)

All participants of the Conference got a leaflet informing about the project Beyond Signs in the City, its idea , products and the website At the plenary session of the Conference all participants were told about the project, its idea, methodology, partners, products and ways of exploiting them etc. Many teachers visited the stand and expressed their interest in the products and the whole project as such. As organizers we were really satisfied with the reaction of the Conference participants to the project which was received with interest, enthusiasm and appreciation.

SIGNS at the London Language Show, October 2010

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 00:00:00 EEST

Beyond Signs in the city held a stand at the show during three days from 14-17 October 2010. The show included over 160 exhibitors that covered every aspect of the language world from teaching resources and career advice to professional products and language holidays.

Beyond Signs in the city participated at the Language Show with a stand that included:

· a photo exhibition of language signs

· a demonstration of the published products (booklets for 10 languages and 9 cities)

· a demonstration of the offline game

· promotional materials such as postcards and posters

· crash language courses via the means of photography

All 9 Beyond Signs in the City films were demonstrated within the World Cinema programme at the Language Show cinema during the three days of the show.

There were over 600 visitors to the stand and about 300 visitors at the cinema over a period of three days.

All visitors received a demonstration of all our books and methodology. They appreciated the knowledge they gained about European languages and cultures they knew nothing about.

Publishers were interested in using the methodology as part of a potential publication.

Tourist agencies were interested in receiving books as part of their promotional materials and a cruise company running cruises to Izmir wanted more copies so that they could distribute them to their travellers.

Language teachers loved the materials and many asked for postcards, posters and other learning materials that they could use in their classrooms.

Feedback and quotes from the event

Thanks for the books from the Language Show. I picked up the ones about Dobrich and Csikszereda and have been looking through them. Think they're great, actually, firstly because they show the language in life, and secondly because they just make me want to go off and visit some of these places. It might be because I have an interest in languages (I spent 20 years in Russia), but I think the books are a very clever idea for anyone just visiting these places, giving a much more visual approach to a phrasebook and thereby bringing it all alive.

Jenny Billinge

It was lovely to meet you at the Language Show. The exhibition was interesting, but especially your stall was extremely important for me. I read your Sign in Izmir booklet and found it most enjoyable.

I want to Thank You very much again, for this great work, effort, enthusiasm.

Irfan Findik

Thank you for the wonderful books which I picked up at the Language Fair. I really like them. It's so good to see the target language (which is often included in the guidebooks) actually on the signs as they appear in the country. People often say that the use of colour aids memory and I think I must be a visual learner as seeing the words on the signs really help. I really like the choice of cities - lovely pictures, not too much language to grapple with and some nice cultural background. I've taught Bulgarian students and have often heard of the differences between yes and no, but did not know the legend. Interesting!

So - once again - thank you and I loved the display of photos at the Language Fair.
Katy Ferrar

Thank you so much for the copy of Signs in Izmir. I think it is a delightful introduction to the city and to the Turkish language, and would make an excellent present for anyone going there for the first time. The pictures are delightful and the information just enough to whet the appetite.

Lorna Hicks

I really enjoyed "Beyond Signs in the City" at the Language Show on 15 October. Your stand brightened up the whole event and there were numerous arresting scenes to admire. I have managed to read and understand much of the German material and to look at other material - and of course there is the CD. It is wonderful that the European Commission with input from various constituent countries has supported this enlightened project. Bravo!

David Watson

SIGNS at BirguFest 2010, Malta

Sun, 10 Oct 2010 00:00:00 EEST

As part of the BirguFest 2010 event, that was held from 8^th till 10^th October, 2010, an event organised by the Birgu Local Council on a national scale level. The Local Council organised an exhibition at the Auberge D’Angleterre, where the Regional library is situated. People visiting this exhibition were given information about the project itself and the participating cities in this project. Screenings of all the Signs films took place during the event.

SIGNS participation at European Conference: Cities and Urban Spaces: Chances for Cultural and Citizenship Education

Fri, 8 Oct 2010 00:00:00 EEST

29 September - 1 October 2010, Trieste, Italy
NECE - Networking European Citizenship Education

Beyond Signs in the City project was one of the project honoured to be presented as creative practices during the conference, which was held as a laboratory, think tank and project market for different disciplines, methodologies (“expert cultures”) and practitioners, bringing together the variety of 'urban' discourses and practices in the cities of Europe.

A stand of the project was organized at the “Market of Ideas and Projects”. 10 different projects found place and this market, SIGNS was the only project developed under Lifelong Learning Programme.

The coordinator Reneta Palova presented the project during the World café as well as in the Workshop session as innovative initiative concerned with city life, culture and creativity through language learning. Mrs. Palova exchanged experiences and knowledge concerning the chances of cultural and citizenship education within the development of cities and urban spaces.

All the films created under the project have been presented during the Consultation & Networking Panels.

The participation at the NECE conference placed SIGNS project in a new environment and marked for new approaches to cooperation and sustainability of the project.

This European conference brought together more than 200 experts, architects, sociologists, urban planners, artists and multipliers and practitioners in cultural and citizenship education together to exchange experiences from different perspectives besides initiating a dialogue on current challenges for the urban space as well as searching for creative impulses for an urban cultural and citizenship education.

Promotional event in Dobrich, Bulgaria – 21-30 September 2010

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EEST

The event was hеld during the celebrations of the Day of Dobrich (25th of September) and the European day of languages (26th of September).

The event was inaugurated on 21st September in the presence of Dobrich Vice-Mayor of Education and Culture. Presentation of the project and its products was made before wide audience, followed by press-conference.

Exhibition was opened of photos, created by Jean-Francois de Kriek, representing remarkable “bites” of the signs and atmosphere of the cities.

All the books have been available for reviewing and picking up and crash language lessons in the languages of the project were offered to the visitors.

Computers with installed game “Signs in the city Horizons” were placed on different places and the visitor have the opportunity to accomplish missions in the cities and to learn some words in the languages spoken there.

The public enjoyed screenings of the Signs films in cinema “Ikar” during all the ten days of the event (every day for three hours with free entrance).

SIGNS presentation at COMET conference in Leibnitz, Austria

Sat, 25 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EEST

On September 23rd, 2010, Christina Pusswald presented “Beyond Signs in the City” at the “COMET – Communication for European Training Managers” Conference at Retzhof Castle in Leibnitz, Austria. Over 40 participants from Austria, Slovenia, Italy, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Greece and the Czech Republic attended the conference which included expert talks, workshops and a project fair.

Christina Pusswald präsentierte bei der Abschlusskonferenz von „COMET – Communication for European Training Managers” am 23. September 2010 im Schloss Retzhof in Leibnitz das „Beyond Signs in the City“ Projekt. Die Konferenz wurde von ca. 40 Personen aus Österreich, Slowenien, Italien, Irland, Polen, Portugal, Griechenland und Tschechien besucht, die an den Vorträgen, Workshops und an der Projektmesse teilnahmen.

SIGNS event in Barcelona, 21st of September 2010

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EEST

“Beyond Signs in the City” project has been presented before local business and wide public in Gràcia, Barcelona. The event was attended by Mr. Guillem Espriu Avendaño, mayor of District Gràcia. All the SIGNS books and films have been presented at the event. The products enjoyed high interest among the participants at the event.

Beyond Signs in the City – Book Fair and Exhibition in Malta

Thu, 2 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EEST

On the 2^nd of September, 2010, as part of the Birgu Day activities, the Birgu Local Council, invited the children of the locality and the children who make frequent use of the Regional library found in Vittoriosa, to a get together, where they were given an introduction about the “Beyond Signs in the City Project” and the participating cities. The children, were given a copy of the books as well as a game and shown the DVD.

SIGNS at transnational architects’ event

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EEST

“Beyond Signs in the City” project website was presented by Mrs. Vanya Tividosheva as a good practical example for promotion of urban culture in all its aspects during the event organized jointly by the Association of Bulgarian Architects, Chamber of Bulgarian Architects and Institute for Training of Personnel in Transnational Organisations, on 1st of October 2010 in the city of Tryavna, Bulgaria. The project was given as an example for illustration of variety of opportunities that presents Transversal Programme under the Lifelong Learning Programme for different professional communities. The event was targeted to provision of information on EC centralized financial instruments and “Beyond Signs in the City” project was identified as an attractive educational scope of methods for promotion of cities in nontraditional educational environment.

More information here:http://www.signsinthecity.net

Europe schools in Bulgaria integrate SIGNS films and game in their learning process

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EEST

Integration of SIGNS multimedia products (films and game) in the teaching/training process of the Europe Schools for Language and Management with the curriculum of the 53 Europe Schools in 45 cities in Bulgaria with more than 10 000 students. With Decision of the Board of the Directors each of the schools included the products in the respective teacher-training and induction courses (6 hrs) and in the curriculum of the schools (12 hrs), starting from the 2010/2011 school year.

SIGNS coverage in the local press of Izmir, Turkey

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EEST

Several articles about Beyond Signs in the City project have been published in different Izmir newspapers.

You can click on the following links to see the full size photos.

SIGNS at the Europass Cluster Meeting in Austria

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EEST

On July 9th, 2010 Christina Pusswald attended the Europass Cluster Meeting hosted by the Austrian National Agency/National Europass Center. At this meeting – attended by representatives from the NECs in Liechtenstein, Hungary, Slovenia and the Czech Republic -, she was given the opportunity to present the Beyond Signs in the City Books.

Am 9.Juli 2010 nahm Christina Pusswald am Europass Cluster Meeting, das von der österreichischen Nationalagentur bzw. vom Europass Center in Österreich veranstaltet wurde, teil. Bei diesem Treffen, das von VertreterInnen des NEC in Liechtenstein, Ungarn, Slowenien und Tschechien besucht wurde, hat sie die Gelegenheit, die Beyond Signs in the City Bücher zu präsentieren.

“Music of the Signs” event in Miercurea Cuic, 2 July 2010

Wed, 7 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EEST

The event was hold as a promotional concert with music of the Cities of Signs. Two bands were invited.

The events included presentation of the project aims and products, projection of “Signs in Miercurea Ciuc” movie, continuous display of banner, roll up, logo, web address during the event and distribution of the book “Signs in Miercurea Ciuc”.

Beyond Signs in the City flies with Bulgaria Air

Mon, 5 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EEST

The whole month of July SIGNS is flying with the airline Bulgaria air to over 30 destinations in the world. The July issue of the in-flight magazine is focused on educational topics and the Bulgarian Minister of Education Sergey Ignatov is serious and candid in his special interview for the magazine. Article about Beyond Signs in the City is published under “Top selections” and presents the editor’s choice for best practice for a project combining knowledge and travelling.

Click here to read the full article

През целия юли SIGNS лети с България еър по повече от 30 дестинации в света. Юлският брой на бордното списание е фокусиран върху образователни проблеми, а българският министър на образованието Сергей Игнатов е сериозен и откровен в интервюто си за списанието. Статия за Beyond Signs in the City е публикувана като избор на редактора за успешна практика за комбиниране на знание и пътешествия.

Кликнете тук за цялата статия

SIGNS films at Solar World Cinema Europe Tour

Mon, 5 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EEST

SIGNS films were included in the program of the Solar World Cinema Europe Tour (5 July - 4 September 2010). This is a mobile cinema powered by solar energy which tours around the world. The mobile cinema brings unseen films to unknown places. Solar World Cinema cooperates with film festivals, film makers, film schools, NGO's, projects and individual initiatives.

Screening took place as follows:

5 july: Basel- Switserland

8-9 July: Agordo - Italy

12 July: Kranj - Slovenia

13 to 16 July: Pula-Croatia

20 July: Rocj-Croatia

23 to 25 July: Rijeka-Croatia

28 July: Marindol-Slovenia

1 August: Novigrad-Croatia

3 to 7 August: tour in Romania

10 August: Rocen-Bulgaria

12 August: Dobrich-Bulgaria

13 to 18 August: Constanta/Varma Veche- Romania

28 to 30 August: Mestre/Venice - Italy

9 September: Chateauroux- France

SIGNS Participation in the Festival della Identita in Parma, Italy

Sun, 4 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EEST

The Birgu Local Council was asked by the Malta Broadcasting Authority to participate in the “Festival delle Identita”, held in July in the City of Berceto, in Parma, Italy, concerning on showing the films produced in the island of Malta, which have the theme of Identity. The Council presented the film “Signs in Birgu”, that is excellent example for this. The film has screenings during the festival before an audience of 400 people.

SIGNS materials in Polish integrated as training tools in Poland

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 00:00:00 EEST

In June 2010 the project was presented to the participants of a Grundtvig meeting entitled ‘Polish in Action’ organized by English Unlimited in Gdansk . The participants of the project came from 10 different countries. English Unlimited, as the organizer of Grundtvig workshops "Polish for beginners in the historic city of Gdańsk" used the materials in Polish as training tools at this workshop. All of the participants found these materials very useful. Before coming to Poland for the workshop, they had been informed about SIGNS project and encouraged to visit the Signs' website. The participants - the foreigners coming to Gdansk were the ideal target audience for the project.

Presentation of the project before teachers, Romania, June 2010

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 EEST

The project was presented at the Grundtvig workshop for teachers “Adults Learning Language and Intercultural Communication” before international audience.

21st -22nd of May, Presentation in Romania

Sun, 23 May 2010 00:00:00 EEST

“Beyond Signs in the City” project has been presented within the conference”Languages as a life skill - new perspective on LSP teaching and learning”, organized at ASE University, Bucharest by QUEST Romania associated member of EAQUALS. Presenter: Andy Hockley, Soros Educational Center, Miercurea Cuic.

SIGNS as example for innovation at “EU English Workshop”

Sat, 22 May 2010 00:00:00 EEST

On May 20th and 21th, 2010, Georg Müllner (Auxilium, AT) conducted the “EU English Workshop” for representatives from various Styrian municipalities. In the course of the workshop, the innovative approach on language learning of Beyond Signs in the City was explained and the project products were presented.

Am 20.und 21. Mai 2010 leitete Georg Müllner (Auxilium, AT) den „EU English Workshop“, bei dem Vertreterinnen und Vertreter zahlreicher steirischer Gemeinden begrüßt werden konnten. Im Rahmen des Workshops stellte er auch das innovative Konzept von Beyond Signs in the City sowie alle Projektprodukte vor.