The Seventh-day Adventist community is blessed to have a global presence, especially in a continent such as Europe, where cultures and languages that vary are so easily accessible.
From 1-3 September representatives from the six language schools in the TED and EUD met on the scenic campus of Seminar Schloss Bogenhofen, Austria, to share the developments within each school, report on promotional efforts over the past two years and discuss ways forward for 2019-2021. The Language Schools represented were DiLCAI Villa Aurora Firenze (Italy), English Language Centre at Newbold College of Higher Education (England), ESDES Sagunto Adventist College (Spain), Institut de Français Langue Étrangère (France), Seminar Schloss Bogenhofen (Austria) and Theologische Hochschule Friedensau (Germany).
Having this kind of network, where Christian Language Schools in Europe can offer good quality education and experiences in safe environments to students, ages 15 and above, from all over the world is an incredible resource. The SDA Languages Europe Association offers learners the opportunity to immerse themselves culturally and linguistically into the following modern languages: German, English, Italian, French and Spanish.
This Consortium was founded in 2004 under the name ‘Linguae Pro Adventu’ with the purpose of working together to support the language schools and combine recruitment efforts for their language and cultural programmes. Since its founding, the association has met eight times every two years.
This year’s meeting started off with a short message by Dr René Gehring, president of the hosting Seminary, reminding us of the essence of Adventist education and teaching - preparing students for a life of service. Dr Gehring quoted the Bible verse in 1 Corinthians 10:31: "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."
Following updates on each school and discussions about future promotional activities, topics regarding improvements and common challenges faced in modern further educational environments started. A mutual goal amongst attendees is to support each institution represented to keep on inspiring students in today’s society.
Newbold College of Higher Education was chosen to host the next meeting in September 2021 and it was voted that Dr Juan Antonio López from Sagunto Adventist College continue coordinating the consortium until 2021.
To discover more about study opportunities and language programmes offered, visit: www.sdalanguages.eu