Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages is back for a third year, celebrating diverse languages and cultures and our connections to the world. International Newcastle co-ordinates the Festival on behalf of the region and are delighted to say that once again, with our many partners, we are providing opportunities for children and young people, schools and communities to explore and enjoy different languages and cultures through a range of free activities, events and resources.
There are activities open from January up to the end of March and registration is open now for live events in March – book early! More activities will be added, so check the News page and follow us on twitter, facebook and instagram.
Open from January – get involved now
- The Big 3: festival song and creative writing and drawing projects for 7-18 year olds
- Wor Seahorse puppet parade
- National speaking and singing competitions
- Some of the interactive games and challenges (and registration for activities in March)
- Some of the activities for young learners (and registrations for activities in March)
- Free language and culture resources that you can access anytime.
Sign up now for live events in March
Registration is required for a range of events that are happening in March and this is open now for most of these.
- For 7-18 year olds and schools, there are free live language taster sessions in a wide range of languages, language and culture workshops, as well as university activities for school language students
- There are live events for adults and professionals around language related topics and training to improve language learning and teaching
Your stories
You can read stories now of How Languages Changed my Life from people from the North East or who have come to live, work or study here – and you can share your own with us to inspire others about the opportunities that learning languages can open up.
Our Festival
In 2021 and 2022 over 30,000 children and young people and more than 600 schools took part in the festival and we would love as many as possible to have these opportunities.
Help us spread the word, share the What’s On programme and follow us on social media.
To find out more about the impact of the Festival on children and young people, you can see 2022 Festival feedback here.
The festival is only possible due to the time, resources and expertise shared by all our partners free of charge and we thank everyone for their efforts over the last six months in preparing such a wonderful offer. Find out more here.
